


IBDC: McDanno

by moonstalker24



Series: The Itty Bitty Ditty Committee [3]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairies, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Mad Max, Alternate Universe - Teachers, Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, And He Knows It, Animal Transformation, Because I can, Blood, Career Day, Cargument, Character Death, Contemplation, Descriptions of gore, Drabble Collection, For reasons, Gen, Ghost steve, Humor, M/M, Matchmaker Lou, Matchmaking, Meet-Cute, Mr Pickles is a character, New Jersey, Shuffle Challenge, Slow Dancing, Sword in the Stone, THATS WHY, Ugly Vases, Witch Danny, Witch Grace, Witch Hunter Steve, Yes all of them, all the early morning snuggles, and its hilarious, and steve is the knights of the round table, baker steve, because haunting, because hawaii loves its task force, bowling, but its ok because he has danny, but she loves her superSEAL too, cath comes back, chin is a cat lady, chin is arthur, danny is Archimedes, deployed!au, faery steve, grace loves her danno, i dont care what you say, kono is merlin, matchmaking rabbits, mostly for the gossip, mr hoppy, new jersey isnt home anymore, of the old age variety, snuggles, steve has nightmares, steve is a lucky sob, steve is a stress baker, talk show host nani, team as cats, trying to tag for triggers, water spirit chin, will add more tags as they come up, you know if it were real
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-08
Updated: 2017-03-15
Packaged: 2018-04-03 12:17:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 60
Words: 62,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4100670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonstalker24/pseuds/moonstalker24
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shuffle Challenge Drabble Collection of the McDanno variety.</p><p>53. I'm A Poached Egg - Ella Fitzgerald (matchmaking rabbits)<br/>54. Gasoline - Halsey (mad max!au part 1)<br/>55. Nothing Left - Kygo feat. Will Heard (deserving)<br/>56. Little Wonders - Rob Thomas (faeries)<br/>57. Garden - Halsey (mad max!au part 2)<br/>58. Reading Time With Pickle - Regina Spektor (vases)<br/>59. Level Up - Vienna Teng (new jersey, pre-series meet-cute)<br/>60. Nirvana - Sam Smith (need)</p><p>  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZMxJOD1uYNbf0ZjyXrM8P5kIsd6gyOMa">playlist for the Mcdanno set on youtube.</a></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Sea and the Shore (catherine, mcdanno)

**Author's Note:**

> The Sea and the Shore - Amy Speace feat. John Fullbright
> 
> Okay, so this is my first real foray into writing H50. I've read my fair share of fic and seen every episode so I think I've got the characterizations down, but no promises on it being perfect. Also, my thing for the sweeping narrative seems to come out when it comes to H50.

**The Sea and the Shore**

 (catherine, mcdanno, [the sea and the shore - amy speace feat. john fullbright](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mdl6bcwG18))

 

_“Said the shore to the sea you left me here too long_

_And I was promised to the moon while you were gone_

_He waited until the brightest night_

_To demand my hand under his fullest light_

_And promised he’d always stay and watch over me_

_Oh why did you wait ‘til now said the shore to the sea…”_

 

Catherine spends ten long months in Afghanistan helping the people rebuild from the destruction she had helped cause. She met amazing people and made friends that she would think on for the rest of her life, but eventually it was time to head home. She catches an Army transport back to the states and then a domestic flight to Honolulu.

She spends what feels like ages in LA waiting for a connecting flight. She’s been up for nearly two days and the further west she goes the more time she gains. When she finally lands it’s early morning and she’s exhausted but happy.

She’s too anxious to see Steve to do much more at home than grab a shower and a change of clothes and head out. Her car purrs that throaty growl she’s actually missed when she turns the engine over and she gets a breakfast burrito from a drive through on her way across the city. She keeps the windows rolled down so that she can smell the sea air as she goes.

She’s actually surprised how much she missed it here. She tears up a little at the thought of thinking of a place as home rather than the Navy. It’s novel, she likes it.

Danny’s camaro is sitting in the driveway next to Steve’s truck. Both vehicles are gleaming in that way that says they’ve both just been washed. She hops over the curb and the water still drying there and wonders what possessed Steve to do it at home versus taking them to a car wash.

She uses her key to get inside. The house hasn’t changed much. There’s a large pile of shoes by the door and new bookcases lining the walls of the living room. The door to the lanai is propped open with a pink plastic bucket full of seashells. She takes the hint and heads out to the beach.

She doesn’t even make the chairs at the edge of the grass before she spots them. Danny is sitting on a towel next to an impressive sandcastle. He’s got a smile on and he’s basking in the sunshine while Grace presses decorative seashells into the castle to make windows and doors. Steve is on his knees using a yellow shovel to dig an impressive moat.

They all look so happy.

She takes a few steps forward, intending to join them when Danny squawks and complains about flying sand. Steve says something about a little dirt never hurting anyone and Danny was off. His hands flailing and Grace laughing and Steve leans over and kisses him.

Catherine has to sit when Steve pulls away and Danny drags him back into another kiss. They look so happy. They’re smiling as they kiss each other and Grace’s grin splits her face as she watches them. Catherine wonders how long this has been going on.

She remembers vaguely that she had told Steve that she couldn’t ask him to wait for her. She had basically broken up with him after he’d been well enough for Danny to take home. He’d been adamant that he loved her. She’d carried the hope that he still would enough to wait for her.

But… she had set him free, and there had always been something between Steve and Danny.

And… Danny was here. Not on the other side of the world with people he didn’t know. He hadn’t left Steve drifting.

That was what Steve did. He drifted. Catherine had been the most surprised of anyone when he’d transferred to the reserves. She’d been shocked when he’d stopped moving and seemed to settle down. He’d stopped, but she hadn’t and she had always thought they’d do it together or not at all.

When had she lost him?

She sits there watching the trio on the beach for a few minutes before she gets up and retreats. Danny was here, watching Steve’s back every moment of every day while Cath was out in the world. He’d come all the way to Afghanistan to get Steve back. Hadn’t taken no for an answer from anyone no matter their rank. She knows Steve has done the same for Danny.

So why is she surprised?

She leaves her key on the little table by the door. Her hands grip the steering wheel tightly as she pulls away from the curb. She had left him, broken up with him and still had expected him to wait. Steve had patience, except for where his heart was concerned.

She shouldn’t be surprised, but she is and it hurts.

She doesn’t see Steve rush out into the drive to watch her pull away. Danny appears at his side offering him the key she left. Steve sighs and the frown on his face is enough to have Danny wrapping an arm around him. He wraps his own around Danny and they head back inside.

He didn’t mean to hurt her, but she had hurt him first and he was tired of waiting.

They head back out to the beach and Grace and Steve packs it away and goes back to his family. He wishes her well. He wishes her happy.

Like he is.


	2. Lost (mcdanno, slow dancing)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve and Danny slow dance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lost - Anouk

**Lost**

 (mcdanno, slow dancing , [lost - anouk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dn_CjkNtl6s))

 

_“I get lost in this world_

_I get lost in your eyes_

_And when the lights go down_

_That is where I’ll be found…”_

 

The song that is playing is sad and inappropriate for how Danny feels. Only sort of not because the singer is expressing how he feels, only in her version that feeling is unrequited. Which makes it highly inappropriate for close slow dancing with your significant other without getting all teary eyed and mushy.

In his defense, Danny had protested. But here he is, swaying in a slow circle in Steve’s arms and feeling uncomfortable because he’s _feeling things_ and they had agreed to keep work separate. He wants to snort, but holds it back because this is Steve McGarrett and he doesn’t know how to separate home and work.

Danny looks up at Steve and he has to stop himself rolling his eyes. Steve is watching him with starry eyes instead of the watching the crowd for their perp. Danny is not surprised and quirks an eyebrow at the other man who decides that grinning at him goofily is the right answer.

He sighs.

They sway for a few more seconds until Kono’s voice comes on over their earpieces “Uh, guys. Our guy is heading for the back door.”

Danny pulls away from Steve with a little bit of reluctance and hides how he’s feeling behind bluster and ranting and by Steve’s grin he knows he’s not fooling anyone. By the time they make it through the crowd and out the door their guy is lying on the ground in cuffs and Kono is sitting on the guy.

Chin looks up from his cousin, shotgun in hand and smirks at them “Took you two lovebirds long enough.”


	3. The Girl (grace, mcdanno)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grace on McDanno

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Girl - City and Color
> 
> Writing Grace's POV is fun. I hope I didn't make it younger than she is. Set in Season two.

**The Girl**

(grace and mcdanno, [the girl - city and color](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVHk4dc7yaE))

 

_“But you don’t ask for no diamond rings (diamond ring)_

_No delicate string of pearls (string of pearls)_

_That’s why I wrote this song to sing_

_My beautiful girl…”_

 

Grace loves her mother and she knows that her mother loves her. There are certain things though, that she doesn’t like. She doesn’t like how she always has to look perfect. How she should been seen but not heard and heaven forbid she play with some of the toys in her room. They’re all gifts from Step-Stan, so she isn’t inclined to play with them anyway, but, well, they’re _toys_.

It’s strange how she knows she isn’t the center of Rachel and Step-Stan’s world like other kids in her class are to their parents. She knows Mommy doesn’t mean to do it, but mommy is having a new baby and this one is Step-Stan’s real kid and she gets ignored a lot more.

Danno and Steve make up for it. By leaps and bounds. She loves her weekends with them. She gets to spend more time with them now that there’s a new baby, and she doesn’t mind. She even gets to see Danno more often during the week because he picks her up from school and they get shave ice sometimes.

When she’s with her Danno she knows she’s his world. She feels the same way with Steve, so when he and Danno finally get their act together and Danno moves in with Steve, Grace is really happy. She gets her own room at Steve’s and he lets her pick the color for the walls.

She collects seashells on the beach and Steve doesn’t mind when she brings them into the house and forgets about them. Steve just gets a plastic storage bin and puts it on the bookcase for her to put them in. Danno gives her actual chores to do and she doesn’t mind because she has a maid at Mommy and Step-Stan’s.

She brings Mr. Hoppy over one week when Mommy and Step-Stan go out of town (again) and Mr. Hoppy likes it there so much that he stays when she has to go back home. Danno complains a lot but he helps Steve set up the short portable fencing around Mr. Hoppy’s part of the yard so that he won't wander off or get eaten.

Grace eats cocoa puffs and sits on the table on the lanai and watches.

Steve makes Danno eat healthier, and Grace likes that because they did a unit on nutrition at school and she wants her Danno to live forever so he needs to eat healthy.

Mommy starts making noise about leaving Hawaii because Step-Stan’s job wants him to go to Las Vegas. Grace likes Hawaii, all her friends are here and so are Aunt Kono and Uncle Chin. And she doesn’t want Danno to have to leave Steve because she knows he will.

“If Mommy goes to Las Vegas” she asks Danno one night when he’s tucking her into bed. Steve wanders into the room with her bear because she couldn’t find him so Steve had gone on recon to find him for her. “Can I live with you and Daddy?”

Both men pause. She can tell she’s stunned them both, but she knows what Steve means to her and she doesn’t see why she should hide it. Danno is always telling her that lying is a bad thing. When Steve beams a grin her way as he presents her bear, she knows he doesn’t mind. Danno looks like he’s trying to hide how okay with it he is and doesn’t answer.

So Grace asks Daddy “Can I, Daddy? I don’t want to go.”

Daddy sits on the edge of the bed and wraps her in a hug. It isn’t like one of Danno’s hugs, but it’s special all on its own. “Of course you can Gracie. You know we want you here all the time.”

“Yeah, Monkey” Danno finally says. “Daddy and I would love to have you live with us.”

Grace nods and hugs her Danno and lays down. Danno and Daddy head for the door holding hands and Daddy turns her light off. “I love you Danno, love you Daddy.”

“I love you too, Gracie” both men chorus. She smiles and hugs her bear close and closes her eyes. She gets to stay in Hawaii no matter what, and she’s happy.


	4. All of the Stars (delpoyed!au)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve gets deployed, and it's a long time to wait for him to come home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All of the Stars - Ed Sheeran
> 
> I have... feelings on Deployed!Steve.

**All Of The Stars**

 (mcdanno, deployed!au, [all of the stars - ed sheeran](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkqVm5aiC28))

 

_“So open your eyes and see_

_The way our horizons meet_

_And all of the lights will lead_

_Into the night with me_

_And I know these scars will bleed_

_But both of our hearts believe_

_All of these stars will guide us home…”_

Steve gets reactivated on a Tuesday in March. Chin gets made acting commander of Five-0 and Danny is okay with that because he doesn’t need all of the crap that comes with being in charge alongside being a father and worrying like hell about his partner. He moves into the McGarrett house because Steve insists and Danny has a sneaking suspicion that Steve went and changed all his paperwork so that Danny is his emergency contact and if anything happens Danny gets everything.

He doesn’t like it, but he gets why Steve does it.

On Steve’s last day in Hawaii, they take Grace for shave ice and then they stay home and watch movies and if Danny and Steve hold hands behind Grace’s back, then no one there would call them out on it.

Steve goes to Hickam on his own. He doesn’t want to say goodbye so Danny doesn’t make him. One night he’s there and in the morning Steve is gone and the house feels a lot emptier.

Rachel is surprisingly understanding of Danny's need for more time with Grace. She may not be in love with Danny anymore, but she does love him, so she cares and she worries. Stan doesn’t see what the fuss is about, but he’s never been a police officer’s wife, so she gives him some leeway.

Danny appreciates that Rachel is willing to let him just take Grace for a few hours when he needs the boost because he’s started wondering where Steve is and what he’s doing and if he’s okay.

Three months after Steve is deployed Danny starts getting letters in the mail. They’re postmarked up the wazoo and very late according to the dates on some of them, but he’s relieved to see them. He starts writing back and very quickly he’s including letters from Grace.

Grace brings up the idea of a care package a month later. She goes to school with several kids whose parents are stationed out of Pearl-Hickam and they’d been talking about the care packages they send their parents when they’re deployed. Danny thinks it’s a great idea so they go shopping. They send things like a new toothbrush and a new pair of sunglasses and Danny bakes cookies. Grace draws pictures and she takes photos of the entire Ohana to send.

Danny lets Grace be whimsical and he does practical after some research.

A week later and Danny and Grace get to see Steve over skype. Steve is scruffy, dirty and tired looking. He smiles the whole way through the ten minutes they have to talk. When Grace tells him she loves him Steve looks like he’s going to cry. Danny tells him to stay safe and come home.

They leave a lot of things unspoken.

After that they send a care package every month and every time they get to talk (rarely) Grace asks when he’s coming home.

Several more months go by and Danny is sick of looking around for his partner and not having Steve there. The hardest part is that he’s getting used to it. He’s getting used to Steve’s absence and that is just wrong on levels he can’t even comprehend.

He tells Steve so when they talk next. Grace is with Rachel and it’s the first time they’ve been able to talk just them. Steve listens and the only thing he can answer with is _‘I love you’_ because he can’t promise that he’s coming home soon because he just doesn’t know. Danny takes what he can get though. Steve saying those words is hard so Danny treasures it and reciprocates.

*

Ten months roving from desert to desert to jungle and back and Steve has endured blisters and jungle rot and chased bad guys across places he never wants to go again. He doesn’t eat enough and sleeps even less.

He misses the team, he misses Grace. He misses Danny like a limb.

The care packages are a godsend because he remembers that he’s loved and missed and he has a home. He’s grateful for the practical necessities, but lives for the cookies and Grace’s pictures.

When he finally sets foot on Hawaiian soil again he’s been up for two days and he’s got a healing bullet hole in his shoulder but he couldn’t be happier. He’s in fatigues and probably smells a little but he doesn’t go home because it’s Wednesday and there’s no one there. He takes a cab to Grace’s school because he needs to see her almost as much as he needs to see Danny and he knows that him bringing Grace to the office with him will make Danny smile.

He asks the cab to wait and heads into the school, taking the steps two at a time. He’s been on the list of people it’s okay to take Grace for almost two years so he signs her out and asks if it’s okay for him to go to her classroom because she doesn’t know he’s home. The principal is a softie and says yes and escorts him there herself.

When they get there Steve takes a deep breath and the principal knocks and sticks her head into the room “Mr. Palmer, I need to see Grace for moment.”

Grace comes out looking confused but screams at the sight of him and he’s got an armful of crying little girl, but that’s okay because he’s crying too. Her classmates crowd around the doorway and Steve just holds onto her for several minutes because he hasn’t felt anything so good in ten months.

Grace pulls away enough to look at him and she’s got a huge smile on her face. “Does Danno know you’re home?” she demands.

“Not yet, I was hoping you’d help me with that” Steve tells her.

“I’ll get my stuff” she says and darts back into her classroom.

She holds his hand all the way out to the waiting cab and snuggles into his side on the ride to the Palace. He thanks the cab driver and hauls his duffle onto one shoulder and lets Grace drag him inside by the hand. He drops his gear just outside the elevator when they get to the Five-0 offices and Grace bounds inside.

“Look what I found Danno!” She exclaims.

The whole team is gathered around the computer table and they all look shocked to see him. Chin and Kono recover enough to welcome him home and hand out hugs and then Steve is standing in front of Danny.

“You Neanderthal, you can’t call ahead?” Danny manages to get out, but he’s grinning and looks like he might cry. So Steve does the only thing he can do.

He kisses him.


	5. Home (hawaii on five-0)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Popular opinion on Five-0 as seen through the eyes of morning talk show host, Nani.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Home - Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
> 
> I don't even know. *shakes head*

**Home**

(mcdanno, hawaii’s fav it couple, [home - edward sharpe and the magnetic zeros](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHEOF_rcND8))

_“Ah, home, let me go home_

_Home is wherever I’m with you_

_Ah, home, let me go home_

_Home is where I’m alone with you…”_

Five-0 is one of local morning talk show host Nani Kaphua’s favorite topics. The task force is well known and secretly loved by all of Hawaii. They’re also a local gossip favorite and people have started treating tourists who don’t know about them the same way they do when a mainlander tries to immerse themselves in the culture. With a lot of mocking.

Nani is one of the few media people who actually gets answers when she talks to Five-0. Mostly it’s because she doesn’t push and she usually comes down on their side so they like her. Her show’s ratings skyrocket when they start using her as their official outlet. She gets the inside scoop when something is going on.

She dedicates an entire fifteen minutes of her hour long program to sightings and rumors and has the most up to date information. And the best pictures.

She keeps a count of how many people send her pictures of Chin on his motorcycle every week. She fans herself when she tallies things on Friday because he’s a fine specimen of man and he looks amazing on a motorcycle and she claims she’s converted.

Kono uses Nani to announce her wedding to Adam and Nani gets to keep everyone in the loop on the wedding plans. Nani reminds everyone that they want to keep it small and private and tells them that she’ll have exclusive photos the day after.

Lou Grover becomes everyone’s favorite after he transfers from SWAT to Five-0. He’s sarcastic and funny and is jokingly called the Uncle of Hawaii because of the way he treats everyone like a favored niece or nephew. People like seeing him out and about with his family.

By far Nani’s favorite part of the segment is the segment on Steve and Danny. Trying to spot Danny surfing and get a picture of it is a favorite thing. People try to film them having one of their famous arguments. There’s a running tally on how many criminals have asked them how long they’ve been married.

The entire island is respectful of Danny’s request to keep Grace out of the media. Very few pictures ever feature the girl, and even then it’s mostly by accident and the back of her head.

There’s a Stunt of the Week highlight reel of the crazy things the team does (mostly Steve).

Every time there’s an event going on to help a local organization or charity and Five-0 gets involved, Nani highlights the cause instead of how Five-0 is involved.

The first time someone get’s Steve and Danny on camera holding hands Nani is careful about how she handles it. She uses the photo, because like everyone else she ships it so hard she likes to pretend that she can make it happen with the power of her brain. The photo fades off but is a favorite on the website alongside the photos of Steve’s tattoos and Chin on motorcycle.

Then someone films them kissing and the whole island explodes.

The governor makes them do an interview because he gets sick of fielding questions about it. They choose Nani’s show because they know she’ll be discrete about it and not push. Confirmation that Steve and Danny are in a relationship happens on a local morning talk show where they request that people respect their privacy like they have for Chin, Kono and Lou.

The island listens, but Nani adds a weekly highlight reel of favorite couple moments caught on camera to the segment anyway. The island loves their boys and Nani is looking forward to the first time she hears about someone punching someone else because they said something nasty about it.

She also gets a promise from them that if they ever get married she’ll get the inside scoop like she has with Kono. That’s good enough for her.


	6. Don't Worry Baby (teacher!au part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grace invites her teacher to her birthday party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't Worry Baby - The Beach Boys
> 
> Okay, so here's the deal, this song came on and I realized that it's the song they play at the end of Never Been Kissed. This is not a Never Been Kissed AU but it did inspire Teacher!Steve. Brandon came about because I needed a reason for Steve to have left the Navy. He's based on my Nephew who is both very articulate and very particular.

**Don’t Worry Baby**

 (mcdanno, teacher!au, part 1, [don’t worry baby - beach boys](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lW0YGC68qP4))

 

_“But she looks in my eyes_

_And makes me realize_

_When she says ‘don’t worry baby’_

_Don’t worry baby_

_Don’t worry baby_

_Everything will turn out alright…”_

 

Steve is organizing the giant pile of homework on his desk by subject when he realizes that not all of his students has scrambled out of the classroom as quickly as they could when the bell rang. He looks up and smiles because he can’t not. Grace Williams is standing by the desk, clutching her binder to her chest and waiting patiently. She’s tipping back and forward on her feet and she’s biting her lip.

Steve knows he’s not supposed to have favorites, but he can’t help it. Grace is intelligent, thoughtful and funny and she always participates in class even when she’s not sure she’s got the right answer. So few kids are willing to put themselves out there and that makes Grace one of the bravest people he’s ever met in his life.

And he spent more than fifteen years as a Navy SEAL.

“What can I do for you, Grace?” he asks her.

Grace holds out an envelope that he hadn’t noticed she was clutching on one hand. He takes it and flips it over. Mr. McGarrett is scrawled across the front in a cramped, blocky hand. He flips it back over and opens the unsealed flap and when he pulls the card out confetti falls out. His desk and his shirt are now covered in pink, green, yellow and blue hibiscus and pineapples.

He teaches the third grade, so he very rarely ever gets covered in confetti. His son, Brandon is too young to be learning about the joy of arts and crafts so Steve is still expecting to wake up one day and find glitter everywhere.

It’s an invitation to a birthday party this Saturday. Grace’s birthday party. He looks up at Grace who is still biting her lip in trepidation.

“Thank you, Grace, for the invitation but -”

“I’d really like it if you could come, Mr. M” she interrupts.

Steve sighs and walks around the desk to perch on the corner. “I would really love to, Gracie, but I have something really important to do that morning.”

Grace nods and then gestures at the invitation “It doesn’t start until eleven, so you could be a little late.”

The offer is tempting because the invite says that lunch will be provided and that usually means hot dogs. He hasn’t had a hot dog in months that hasn’t first been chewed on by a two year old.

“Danno convinced Kamekona to pitch in with free shave ice” she offers to sweeten the deal.

Steve looks at her for a long moment and then nods “My son loves shave ice. Would it be okay if I bring him with me? He’s only two.”

Grace nods enthusiastically.

“Okay then, we’ll swing by around noon okay?”

Grace grins at him and nods and runs from the room with a wave. Steve can’t contain the smile and goes back to the homework on his desk. He shakes shiny pineapples into the trash as he goes.

*

When Catherine had told him that she was pregnant Steve had been terrified. He didn’t know if he had it in him to be a father and he certainly wasn’t in love with Cath. Sure, he loved her, she was his best friend, but he didn’t want to marry her.

When he told Cath that she laughed in his face. She didn’t want to marry him either.

Cath had thought she could handle being stationed on a base pushing papers, but six months into the pregnancy and she was going stir crazy. She wasn’t built for being stationary. Steve was still on mission and trying to wrap things up to be stateside for the birth. When she called in tears because she had decided she didn’t even want to be a mother, Steve did the only thing he could.

He got out. It took all the way up to the day Brandon John McGarrett was born, but Steve transferred to the reserves, updated his teaching certifications and moved back in with his father. At least this way, with Steve in Honolulu Cath had the option of seeing their son whenever she wanted.

She was adamant that she would only ever be Aunt Cath though.

John McGarrett took to his son and brand new grandson far easier than Steve thought he would. The retired police lieutenant had insisted on helping out, so John looked after Brandon while Steve was at school or on maneuvers with the reserves.

It wasn’t the same as being a SEAL, but Steve wouldn’t trade it for anything.

“Hey, I’m home!” Steve calls as he comes in the front door.

“Daddy!” there’s a blur of bright red and brown hair charging at him and Steve stoops down to scoop up Brandon. Brandon squeals in joy and once he’s settled in his Daddy’s arms he puts both hands on Steve’s cheeks and says very seriously “We need swimming.”

“We do?” Steve asks. Brandon nods seriously. He’s two and a half and part fish. John says he’s just like Steve, which Steve is okay with. “Sounds like a plan, let me change my clothes and say hi to Grandpa and then we’ll go, okay?”

“Okay” Brandon says and wiggles to be put down.

Steve sets him on his feet and he dashes off. He’s wearing swim trunks in bright red with hibiscus printed on them. Steve doesn’t recognize the suit, which means it’s new and that’s why Brandon needs to go swimming.

Steve heads into the kitchen where he knows he’ll find John working on dinner “New swim suit, huh?”

John looks up at his son and grins “I forgot about the aquarium and we got stuck at the station.”

Steve nods. The only thing his son likes more than the water are the things that live in the water. “I got invited to a birthday party on Saturday” he says as he pulls open the fridge to find a quick snack before his child drags him out to the water.”

“You going to go?” John asks. His calm voice is deceptive because he’s been pushing Steve to make friends outside of his students and the Navy.

“I think so, Grace said she didn’t mind if I brought Brandon and we were a little late. We’ve got that doctor’s appointment” Steve says as he peels a couple of hard boiled eggs.

“Good” John says. “Maybe you’ll meet someone.”

“Dad!”

*

When Steve arrives at the party spot it’s already in full swing. Kamekona’s Shave Ice Stand is a central feature and Steve’s stomach grumbles when he gets out of the truck and he can smell the burgers. He opens the back door of the truck and retrieves the diaper bag, Grace’s present and Brandon.

As soon as Brandon’s feet hit ground he’s headed straight for Kamekona because he knows that the big man won’t make him wait until after hot dogs for shave ice. Steve lets him go because there are Kalakaua-Kellys all over the place. Chin Ho is standing next to a blonde man at the grill even.

“Chin!” Brandon shrieks at the top of his lungs as soon as he spots Chin. He diverts his path instantaneously from Kamekona to Chin because while Kamekona gives him shave ice, Uncle Chin is way more awesome.

Steve ambles up behind Brandon just as Chin catches the boy deftly from where he’s thrown himself at the man. Chin is laughing and Steve knows he doesn’t mind. The man next to Chin is grinning and Steve stops for a second. He’s absolutely beautiful.

“Well if it isn’t Brandon McGarrett!” Chin says. Brandon is hugging him and it doesn’t look like he’s going to let go.

“Hey Chin” Steve says, coming up to the duo, he gives the blonde a smile.

“Aloha” Chin replies. “What’s with the barnacle routine?”

“We went to the doctor” Steve says. That’s enough for Chin who says ‘ah’ and lets it go.

“Mr. McGarrett!” Grace appears right at that moment and Steve hugs his student.

“Happy Birthday, Gracie!” he tells her, and gives her the present. She runs off to put it with the other presents, leaving him with Chin and the blonde.

“Danny Williams” the blonde offers a hand.

Steve grins and shakes it “Steve McGarrett. It’s nice to put a face a to the name.”

“Likewise” Danny tells him with a grin.

Steve is in so much trouble, he decides at the sight of that grin. So, so much trouble.


	7. Honey I'm Good (five-0 walks into a bar)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny and Steve get hit on all the time, but they go home together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honey I'm Good - Andy Grammer

**Honey I’m Good**

(mcdanno, [honey i’m good - andy grammer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Go7gn6dugu0))

 

_“You look good, I will not lie_

_But if you ask where I’m staying tonight_

_I gotta be like oh, baby, no, baby, you got me all wrong, baby_

_My baby’s already got all of my love…”_

 

Steve is leaning on the bar waiting for his longboard when someone decides to cop a feel. They goose his ass and he jumps a little with a laugh that’s only a little uncomfortable. He turns away to see a tall brunette standing there with a smile. There’s a table full of giggling women behind her and watching them.

“Sorry” she offered with a shrug.

“No you’re not” Steve told her with a grin.

She laughed and shook her head “I’m really not. I’m Emma.”

“Steve” he shook her offered hand and offered the table of girls a wink. They erupted into laughter and hid behind their drinks. Steve turned his attention back to Emma and leaned his elbows on the bar, leaning back to protect his butt.

Emma was still smiling and called a drink order to the busy bartender. “I couldn’t resist, you have very nice glutes.”

Steve laughed “Well, thanks.”

*

Danny was slouched in his chair. His tie was loose around his neck and he’d unbuttoned several buttons and his hair was holding onto its styling by the skin of its teeth. He was propped against the wall watching Chin and Kono bicker over who was going next. They were teaming up against Lou in an attempt to beat him at pool.

Which was useless, but to each their own.

Danny’s eyes cut over to the bar where Steve was getting the next round just in time to see him grin that goofy grin of his at a tall leggy brunette and laugh. Danny rolled his eyes and turned back to look to see who won the coin toss only to have his view blocked.

By a very pretty woman with black hair. She smelled like jasmine, even through this crush. She was biting her lip and smiling through it.

“Hi!” she said. “I’m Jenny.”

“Well hi, Jenny, I’m Danny” Danny offered a hand and she shook it. She took that as an invitation to sit and leaned her elbows on the table and crossed her legs. They were shiny with one of those shimmer lotions. Danny’s eyebrows went up as she dove into conversation.

*

Kono elbowed Chin and pointed with her chin. He looked over at their table and rolled his eyes because of course Danny was being chatted up by a pretty girl. Ever since he and Steve had finally gotten their shit together and talked about their feelings they’d been attracting people like bears to honey.

It was hilarious.

Lou leaned over with a grin “Steve’s got one too.”

The cousins looked over at the bar and Kono shook her head “The second they’re off the market they come out of the woodwork. This has to be some kind of statistical impossibility.”

Chin shook his head “I think it’s Pele having a laugh for making her work so hard to get them together.”

Kono laughed and shook her head. Lou shrugged “We gonna play, or what?”

They turned back to the pool table.

*

Steve was glad of the conversation. Emma was funny and it made the wait for the beers seem shorter. As soon as he had the beers in hand he offered his elbow to Emma who took it with a laugh. She had an appletini in her hand and he escorted her back to her friends.

“I have to get my people their drinks, it was nice to meet you, Emma.”

“The pleasure was mine” Emma said. She grabbed a napkin and a pen a friend offered and scrawled her number across it. Since his hands were full she folded the napkin and tucked it into his front pocket with a wink.

He grinned “You’re very handsy. Have a nice night. Ladies.”

He turned to make his way across the bar and the table to his back erupted into wild laughter. He rolled his eyes and when he reached the corner the team was in he was quickly relieved of three of the beers. When he turned to the table they had claimed Danny was slouched against the wall talking to a pretty woman.

He looked tired and she looked invested.

Steve made his way over to the table and raised his eyebrows at Danny, who huffed. “Sit you Neanderthal. And give me my beer.”

Steve grinned and offered one of the longboards to his partner and collapsed into the chair next to him.

“This is Jenny” Danny said, indicating the woman with his beer.

“Well hi, Jenny. I’m Steve” Steve told her.

She smiled tentatively at him but it faltered when Danny leaned forward to lean his head against Steve’s bicep. Steve huffed a chuckle and pressed a kiss into Danny’s hair.

“Oh” Jenny said. She looked embarrassed. “I’m going to go.”

Steve nodded at her and watched her walk past the trio around the pool table. Kono was grinning and Lou was laughing. Steve made a face at them and turned back to Danny. “Tired?”

Danny grunted. Steve laughed again and stood up, dragging Danny with him. “Let’s get you home.”

“Sounds awesome” Danny told him and waved as they said their farewells to the others. Danny let Steve wrap his arm around his shoulders and he wrapped his around Steve as they made their way toward the door. They passed Emma’s table on the way out and Steve offered them a grin on the way past.

“I don’t think he’s gonna call you, girl” one of them said into the stunned silence.

“I think you’re right” Emma said. Then the whole table started laughing.

 


	8. Vertigo (rachel on life, love and mcdanno)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rachel observes the evolution of McDanno, despite her unwillingness for Danny to be happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Vertigo - Anya Marina
> 
> I have a love-hate thing going on for Rachel. I like her because her character is at the end of the day a good person, but I hate the way she yanks Danny around... so I can never make up my mind.

**Vertigo**

 (rachel, mcdanno, [vertigo - anya marina](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNHge0UOlVY))

 

_“The song you sing_

_Gives me vertigo…”_

 

Rachel knows that no matter what Danny will always be there for her. She has Grace, and where Grace goes so goes Danny’s nation. Danny is invested in Grace’s happiness, which means by proxy he is also invested in Rachel’s as well. Does she take advantage of this fact? Absolutely.

She married Stan for two reasons. One: Stan is reliably predictable and will always come home. She doesn’t have to worry about him getting shot on the job. Two: He was loaded, which meant returning to the lifestyle to which she was accustomed to. She had grown up in High Society and wanted to return to it.

The fact that she actually loves Stan had only been an afterthought.

When Stan gets promoted and they move to Hawaii she doesn’t fight it. It’s a new start surrounded by people who don’t know everything about her. They buy a big house with a maid and Grace is enrolled in private school. Danny follows as quickly as he can and Rachel takes a certain amount of joy in keeping his visits with Grace down to two weekends a month.

Call her vindictive, but the more miserable her ex-husband is, the happier she is. It’s a byproduct over how bad she felt things were at the end. She knew she was the cause of most of it, but she’d gotten her way so she was fine with it.

When Danny takes Grace to a football game and a gunman opens fire Rachel takes the opportunity to sue for full custody. As much as she likes knowing Danny will always do whatever she wants so that he can keep seeing Grace, she wants him miserable and alone more.

Then that Naval officer shows up at the hearing and everything goes to pot.

Lieutenant Commander Steven McGarrett nips the whole thing in the bud, Danny gets to keep his weekends with Grace and Rachel starts to get an inkling of an idea that Danny might just have a good situation going on here in Hawaii.

She doesn’t know what do with it all when the tension in Danny’s face starts to ease. His smiles are less forced when he picks up Grace. Rachel starts to remember why she fell in love with him and she is not okay with that.

The love she has for Stan doesn’t hold a candle to the love she and Danny had shared.

She and Stan start fighting more. She doesn’t like compromise and Stan is supposed to be her happy ending with everything she’s always wanted, not a compromise. She starts thinking about Danny more.

Grace comes home after a weekend with her father and she’s raving about her first surfing lesson. Rachel had told her to ask Danny because Rachel had known Danny would refuse… but apparently not. Because Danny now has a coworker who was once a professional surfer and who better to teach their daughter to surf?

Names like Uncle Chin and Aunt Kono become a staple in their household after Grace spends a weekend with Danny. Steve becomes a household brand like Danno and bread. Rachel doesn’t like it when Grace talks about Steve because she knows that Grace is holding back with it comes to Danny’s partner.

She and Stan start fighting in earnest and so Rachel turns to Danny. Because Danny will do anything to make her happy.

Only not.

Danny doesn’t even notice that she’s flirting. It’s like talking about her problems with one of her girlfriends or a therapist. It’s disconcerting.

Stan brings up Las Vegas. He offers it up like a fresh start for them. A place where Rachel can be surrounded by glitz and glamour and the rich and famous and they can leave their problems behind on Hawaii.

She tells him to take the job because she is discomfited by how happy Danny seems, not because she truly feels like it will fix all of their problems. Danny will follow Grace. Danny will be miserable again. He’ll be hers to do what she wills with again.

Danny bites back. He files a suit and somehow, without her looking, manages to get an injunction set in place that states that Rachel cannot take Grace out of Hawaii because all the moving around is an unstable environment for Grace. In the process he manages to get full on joint custody and now Rachel has to consult Danny over big choices that have to do with Grace from now on.

She hates it.

And all the while Steve McGarrett is standing shoulder to shoulder with Danny. Danny has a support system and the Governor’s backing.

Her hands are tied. They stay in Hawaii.

It takes being carjacked as a warning to Stan for Rachel to gain real insight into Danny’s new life. Up until then she was willfully stubborn about it. But seeing Steve’s reaction to Grace being put in that kind of danger by her step father and Rachel can no longer ignore it.

Somehow in her mission to make him miserable, Danny had gone out and managed to make himself happy anyway.

A few weeks later Grace isn’t paying attention and she lets ‘Daddy’ slip out in conversation. For a wild moment Rachel thinks that Grace means Stan. That Grace has finally accepted Stan in that role in her life. Then that notion goes to pot just a few hours later when it’s Steve who is picking Grace up for the weekend because Danny is stuck in court.

Grace calls Steve Daddy and he answers to it and Rachel can tell just from the way they act that her daughter has been calling the man that for some time now. After they’re gone she sits and wonders just how much she’s missed in her mission of willful ignorance.

It becomes apparent several months later when Grace comes home talking about being a flower girl and how happy she is that Steve will really be her Daddy because he’s marrying her Danno and he wants to adopt her too.

Rachel concedes. She does not fight the adoption. She does not attend the wedding. Most of the time she just tries to be civil.

It’s a novel concept for her.


	9. Arms (teacher!au part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny's pov of Grace's birthday party, and of Steve and his son.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Arms - Christina Perri

**Arms**

(danny pov, teacher!au, part 2, [arms - christina perri](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeW0Sl0tNS8))

 

_“I hope that you see right through my walls_

_I hope that you catch me ‘cause I’m already falling_

_I’ll never let our love get so close_

_You put your arms around me and I’m home…”_

 

Danny is relieved the day that Grace comes home from school raving about how awesome her teacher is. Both he and Rachel had been praying not to have a repeat of the year before. Mrs. Michaels' second grade class had been a nightmare for Grace. The least of the problems being that she had refused to let Grace use her dominant left hand in class and had insisted on her using her right.

Things had escalated from there.

So when Grace comes home on her first day of third grade raving about how awesome Mr. McGarrett is and how he knows all this cool stuff and how they're allowed to call him Mr. M if they want Danny is relieved. Grace beams like the sun when she tells him that Mr. M is left handed just like her.

So the school year progresses and Grace talks more about school and what she's learning in one quarter than she had the entirety of last year.

Danny is fine with this. The mysterious (yet awesome) Mr. M can keep teaching his kid.

That spring, after the crush of Christmas and New Year's is over and all the criminals of Hawaii have decided to stop with their holiday crime spree it is time to think about Grace's birthday.

She wants to have it at the beach, she wants hot dogs and shave ice and she wants to invite Mr. M. Danny says yes and carefully fills out the invitation with Mr. McGarrett because if he does come, Danny will finally have the opportunity to meet this teacher Grace loves so much.

She comes crashing into his house the day she gives out the invitations with a grin.

"Invites all go out, Monkey?" Danny asks her.

"Yeah!" Grace thumps her backpack on the table and starts pulling out her homework. "Guess what!"

"Johnny Newmann is an alien?" Danny wonders, because Grace thinks the boy that sits next to her in class is from Mars and to Danny, that is hilarious.

"Well, duh!" Grace says, rolling her eyes. Danny contains his amusement to a smirk as she continues on. "Mr. M said he would come to my party!"

"That's great, Monkey" he says, and it is.

"He's going to be late because he has an appointment, but he's going to bring his son" Grace informs him. "He's two, so he won't be able to play the games we have planned. Is that going to be okay? Should we pick different games?"

"I think that two is too young for most games, hon" Danny says. He sets a ham and cheese sandwich in front of her. "I'm sure Mr. McGarrett will bring toys with him for his son to play with. Your Mom and I always did when you were that age."

"You did?"

"Mmhmm. And books too."

"Oh, well then that's okay" Grace decides, and starts her homework.

*

Steve McGarrett is nothing like what Danny was expecting. For some reason he'd been picturing a short guy in glasses, maybe with a bald spot. He had not been expecting this tall, lean hunk of muscle with crazy blue-green eyes and a grin to die for.

The baby is nothing to scoff at either. The toddler that barrels into Chin with a yell and complete trust has darker hair than his father, but he’s got Steve’s eyes and his smile. They’re lethal together, Danny can already tell.

He’s doomed. Doomed.

He introduces himself and because he a glutton for punishment Danny asks about Steve’s wife because with a kid that cute and looks like he’s got, there’s no way that Steve isn’t married.

“Oh, Cath and I aren’t married” Steve says. Chin hands him a longboard and then follows Brandon off toward the playground with a grin and a wave. Steve watches his son go for a moment and then turns to look at Danny. “She’s still in the Navy. She wasn’t ready to be a mother, she might not ever be. So I transferred to the reserves and when Brandon was born she signed over all rights and here we are.”

“You were in the Navy?” Danny asks. “Huh.” He is not surprised. Of course he was.

Steve grins again “Navy SEAL. Still am technically. I’m in the reserves now.”

“Don’t you still have to go out and do training stuff with that?” Danny wonders. “What happens with Brandon?”

“Oh, we live with my Dad.”

Something clicked in Danny’s brain and suddenly it was a small world… Or maybe just a tiny island. “You’re John McGarrett’s son.”

Steve looks surprised for a moment, then he looks from Chin to Danny and then he takes a good look around at the other party guests. Well, the adult ones. Most of Grace’s friend’s parents had just dropped them off, so the small smattering of adults are all probably Ohana. And most of them are cops.

“You’re a cop?”

“Detective” Danny says with a grin and a shrug.

“Let me guess” Steve says, his expression pure mischief. “You’ve met Dad because he wanders into HPD at least once a week chasing leads on old cold cases.”

“You say that like you know the man or something” Danny snarks.

Steve laughs and Danny feels like the sun has come out from behind the clouds when Steve aims it at him. He quickly turns back to the grill, and Steve lets Grace drag him off to play party games. He’s the only adult playing, and it’s hilarious to watch, but Steve is really good with kids.

As soon as enough food is ready, Danny calls everyone over to eat and he finds himself dishing out burgers and hot dogs and chips alongside Steve and Chin. Meka has taken on the task of handing out juice pouches because each kid wants a different flavor and half of them kept changing their minds.

They watch Grace open her presents and exclaim over each thing. She hugs Steve as a thank you over the books he’d gotten her. Danny looks over the titles. All of them are on sea life and he has to shake his head. Grace has been devouring anything and everything about the ocean these days. They’re perfect.

“Brandon helped me pick them out” Steve is saying to Grace. Brandon is nodding seriously in his father’s arms. “The only things he likes more than the water are the things that live in it.”

Grace beams “I love them, thank you.”

Danny’s assaulted with Grace shaped hugs and kisses when she opens his present. He’s finally caved and gotten her surfing lessons. Chin has a professional surfer as a cousin and Kono had been happy to offer her services to him when he asked.

There was cake and shave ice, and then parents started arriving to pick up their kids.

Danny made sure each child had their little bag of goodies and saw each of them off with Grace. When the last one has gone he turns to clean up and finds Chin and Meka wandering around with garbage bags.  Meka’s wife is pregnant with their second child, so she’s supervising.

Steve is packing up bags of chips and leftover buns. Brandon is curled up on the picnic table fast asleep. Danny wanders over and starts putting leftover hot dogs and hamburgers into a ziploc bag.

“You don’t have to stay, he can’t be comfortable.”

Steve smiles and shakes his head “He’s fine. He’s just like me, he can sleep anywhere.”

“He’s a great kid” Danny offers.

Steve’s smile softens and he looks over at Brandon. The amount of love and devotion in Steve’s gaze is familiar. Danny sees it often enough in the mirror when he is thinking about Grace.

Steve looks back over at him “Grace is pretty great too.”

“Thank you” Danny says.

They pack away the remains of lunch and Danny separates out a slice of cake before he boxes the rest of it up. He slides it into its own baggie and sets it next to the diaper bag that Brandon is using for a pillow.

“For John.”

Steve nods “He’ll enjoy that. Thanks.”

Danny shrugs “Grace goes back to her Mom tonight, so the less cake I take home the better. I’ll be the only one eating it.”

Steve nods. Danny can tell he wants to ask, but isn’t sure it would be welcome. “Rachel and I don’t exactly get along. When she moved here she had custody and I only had visitation. She didn’t consult me.”

“That must have been hard.”

“It was. It was horrible. I didn’t make it a month before I was putting in my transfer paperwork and looking for an apartment on an island five thousand miles away from home. I’d follow Grace anywhere.”

“I know the feeling” Steve says, looking over at Brandon again.

“Besides it’s not all bad. I got promoted to Detective Sergeant and I’ve got joint custody of Grace now instead of just visitation” Danny looks over at where Grace is sitting reading one of her new books. “She’s worth it.”

“They are.”

Danny rounds the table and sits down next to Steve. They’re quiet for a few minutes. Meka says goodbye and leaves with his wife and son. Chin grins and tells Steve to tell his Dad hi for him and that Mama Kelly expects them to be at dinner next Friday, then takes himself off.

“When Cath told me she was pregnant I was terrified” Steve says after a few more minutes. His voice is quiet and he’s watching the water. “I was an active duty SEAL and never in one place longer than a few weeks. She’s Naval Intelligence and stationed on a carrier. We weren’t ready, but I did everything I could to make it back here in time for Brandon.”

“When did she tell you she wasn’t ready?”

“She called me when she hit six months. She was in tears. She wasn’t ready to be a Mom and she couldn’t do this. I couldn’t hold it against her.”

“Let me guess, you hopped a transport and were here the next day?”

Steve chuckles “Three. Had to wrap up the mission first. I put in my papers for a transfer to the reserves the day I got here. Dad was surprised when I showed up on his doorstep.”

“I’ll bet. Why teaching?”

“I got a degree in it while I was at Annapolis. It was a minor but I kept thinking about what I was gonna do with myself if I got hurt or the Navy didn’t work out.”

“Safety net, gotcha.”

Steve nods “I like it.”

Danny nods too. He’s good at it too, if Grace was any indication. He turns to look at Steve and Steve catches the movement out of the corner of his eye and tilts his head to look back.

“I want to ask you out” Danny says.

Steve grins “Are you going to?”

“Not sure, you are Grace’s teacher.”

“School’s out in two months and then I won’t be.”

“Dinner?”

“Sounds perfect. Just not Friday. One does not say no to Mama Kelly.”

Danny laughs, nods “How about Wednesday?”

Wednesday is a half day at school, so Steve won’t have to rush to badly. “Sounds perfect” Steve says.

It really, really does.


	10. Beggin' For Thread (danny vs the world, but not steve part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny’s default setting is stubborn. Stubborn with all the subtlety of the proverbial bull in a china shop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beggin' For Thread - Banks

**Beggin’ For Thread**

 (danny versus the world (but not steve), [beggin for thread - banks](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVB2mXCTbNs))

 

_“I got some dirt on my shoes_

_My words can come out as a pistol_

_And I’m no good at aiming_

_But I can aim it at you…”_

Danny’s default setting is stubborn. Stubborn with all the subtlety of the proverbial bull in a china shop. That stubbornness has served him well over the course of his life. It got him through school. Taught all the kids that thought they could pick on him for being short that it wasn’t a good idea. It got him through the police academy.

It got him through the divorce with Rachel.

It gets him through the move to Hawaii, the hazing of being at haole at HPD. Gets him through time with Stan and being shot at when this giant neanderthal comes barging into his life. He doesn’t at all find it strange that he compares interacting with Stan to being shot at.

Being shot at is easier because he can shoot back.

Steve is… well he’s Steve. He’s capable and solid and he’s like the rocks that Danny’s waves crash against. He takes the shouting and the ranting and just braces up against it. Danny in return settles around Steve after the crash.

Steve is just as stubborn as Danny.

Steve digs his heels it, puts his back into it and yanks back.

Danny relies on him. Far too quickly for him to be comfortable with at first. Then time passes and it feels like he’s always had Steve at his back braced and ready for the storm. Steve throws metaphorical rocks at people over Danny’s shoulder whenever he thinks someone is being mean to Danny.

Danny has never had a defender like that before that wasn’t his mother.

It takes longer than Danny likes to admit (in fact, he never admits it) just what Steve means to him. What they mean to each other. When he does the dam breaks and they’re all in. Danny is out of his crappy apartment in the blink of an eye and sharing not only a house with his neanderthal Navy Seal, but a bed as well.

They fit. Danny is loud and brash and angry. Steve is calm and collected and dangerous.

They are equally stubborn and when they aren’t using it on each other they are a force to be reckoned with. Rachel makes noise about another move because she is a selfish being who wants nothing more than for Danny to spend the rest of his life chasing after her.

Danny and Steve go immediately on the offensive. Neither of them has the patience for defense. They take Rachel to court with everything they’ve got. Steve calls in favors from people Danny is fairly certain he’s not supposed to know exist. Danny plays verbal hardball with the lawyers and Rachel and Stan.

Rachel gets served with an injunction that says she’s not allowed to take Grace off of the island of Oahu without court approval. She’s furious and glaring daggers when the judge takes it one further. He approves Danny’s appeal for joint custody.

Rachel is no longer allowed to make decisions about Grace without consulting Danny.

Danny gets more time with Grace. In fact, he gets every other week with Grace.

After it’s all over and they’re standing outside the courthouse Steve steps into Stan’s space. He’s barely within arms reach, but he’s in his blues and he’s radiating enough danger to make even the stupidest person want to run away. It is no surprise when Stan takes an instinctive step back. All Steve does is stare at the man with a hard look on his face, but it takes Stan out of Rachel’s arsenal.

“This won’t last, Daniel,” she’s saying. She hasn’t noticed that Steve has taken out Stan at the knees with just a look and Danny isn’t going to tell her.

He enjoys that Steve can put the fear of god into anyone he wants to. It doesn’t hurt that Steve can follow up on all the silent threats he’s making. This is the man that stores live grenades in the glove box of Danny’s car.

“No, probably not,” Danny replies. He’s not scared of Rachel, he never has been. The only thing he’s ever been scared of when it comes to his ex was her ability to take away Grace. She can’t do that anymore. “You’ll probably do something stupid like try to get the injunction dismissed or sue for full custody.”

Rachel’s eyes narrow and it’s like she’s forgotten in the last two years just who she’d been married to for the better part of a decade. Danny rejoices in reminding her, “Just remember that anything you can do about this will be dead before it ever sees a judge’s docket. You try to take away Grace and I’ll take her away from you.”

Rachel snorts, “You don’t have that kind of money, Daniel. When I’m done with you you’ll never see Grace again.”

Steve turns and his homicidal laser beam expression is aimed at Rachel. Danny has only ever seen that face when there are guns pointed at a member of Steve’s team.

“I may not have money coming out of my ass like Stan,” Danny says. His tone has gone conversational, like they hadn’t been about two seconds away from screaming at each other. “But I work for the Governor and I’m married to a man who spent the vast majority of the last twenty years toppling governments. I’m sure we’ll think of something.”

They aren’t married, but Rachel doesn’t need to know that. Steve grins and it’s positively shark like and Danny knows they will be shortly if Steve has his way. He’s just as stubborn as Danny so he’ll get his way. Mostly because Danny wouldn’t fight him on this, even if he wanted to.

Rachel turns to watch Steve as he rounds her to stand shoulder to shoulder with Danny and it’s like she’s seeing him for the first time. Steve is tall. In his uniform he looks even taller, and he’s radiating every ounce of danger he can muster. His face is absolutely blank and he’s looking at Rachel with eyes that scream death.

Rachel stares at them and Danny can pinpoint the exact moment that Rachel realizes just how deep the hole she’s dug them into is. She’s realizing that she’s in the hole with them and that she’s not the one better equipped to get out of it.

She huffs and leaves, towing a terrified Stan with her.

This isn’t over, not by a long shot; but they’ve got time.

“So, married huh?”

Danny owns it, “Yep.”

Steve grins and this time it’s light and goofy and loving. He tows Danny back up the stairs into the courthouse.


	11. The Walker (animal transformation!au)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve and Danny are turned into aquatic animals. Which is never not funny.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Walker - Fitz and the Tantrums

Inspired by [Cattraine's](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Cattraine/pseuds/Cattraine) [Commander Octopus](http://archiveofourown.org/series/10200) series. Which is one of my favorite things in the whole world. If you haven't read it, go do so. This will wait.

**The Walker**

 (mcdanno, animal transformation!au, [the walker - fitz and the tantrums](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KK9G6a4NXQ))

 

_“Ooh, crazy’s what they think about me_

_Ain’t gonna stop cause they tell me so_

_‘Cause 99 miles and hour baby_

_Is how fast that I like to go…”_

 

Steve is in shock. He reaches out and tentatively touches Danny with one tentacle. He has tentacles. Mottled blue ones and he reaches out and picks up Danny because he knows that the pretty pinkish Starfish is Danny.

Danny kind of adheres himself to Steve when he’s close enough and Steve knows Danny is just as shocked as he is.

Chin is staring and Lou looks like he’s trying not to laugh and when Kono walks up she drops her flashlight in surprise. She crouches down to get a good look at the very large Pacific Octopus and his Starfish friend sitting in a puddle of water and wet clothes.

“Brah” Kono says “You’re an octopus.”

Danny detaches from Steve enough to wave his arms angrily at Kono and Steve knows that if he had a voice he’d be yelling. Steve clutches his partner closer and turns his gaze to Chin who seems to be the only one taking this with the right amount of seriousness.

“It’ll wear off” the witch sitting on the crate to the left says.

They all turn to stare at her. She’s somewhere in her thirties and bruised up pretty good but surprisingly undamaged for having gone missing two days before. Her captors are all in varying states of dead.

“Can I ask why?” Chin says. Lou excuses himself and they hear the roar of laughter as soon as he’s out of sight.

“He had a bazooka” the witch says, and points at the guy dangling from the catwalk by the warehouse office.

Chin shook his head at the woman’s logic and decided he didn’t really want to know how her brain worked. “Can you turn them back?”

“No” her voice has a lot of duh in it.

Kono has retrieved a large bucket and filled it with seawater. Steve slaps away her hands when she reaches for him and with a reproachful look uses his eight limbs to haul both himself and Danny into the bucket. Water sloshes out onto the floor and Steve and Danny are staring balefully at the witch.

At least, Chin thinks Danny is staring. It’s hard to tell with Starfish.

“It’ll wear off in forty-eight hours” the witch tells them with a shrug.

“Why an Octopus and Starfish?” Kono finally asks. She’s sitting next to the bucket half watching Steve and Danny and half watching the cops that have arrived start checking the bodies. Lou has returned and is using his height and bulk to block the bucket from view.

“I don’t choose the forms” the witch says. She peers at the bucket and Chin can tell she’s faintly surprised “The spell chooses based on the personality of the person it’s cast on.”

Chin looks down into the bucket “Huh.”

Steve waves a tentacle at him and clutches Danny the Starfish closer.

*

Grace has her hands pressed to the glass of the giant fishtank. She’s staring with her mouth open a little bit because that’s her Danno in there. The Starfish had waved at her when Chin brought her in and was now stubbornly refusing to take any more of the mollusks and other small shelled creatures the Octopus keeps offering him.

There is a pile of them next to where the Starfish is sitting because Steve isn’t returning them to where he found them.

Grace is never, not ever letting this go. “We need pictures Uncle Chin” she says seriously.

Chin grins “Kono’s got that covered, she already went to the store.”

He hands her a disposable waterproof camera. Grace takes it with a smile and a thank you and turns to the tank, raising it to her face “Say cheese!”

Steve grabs up Danny, who waves his arms around angrily, and poses.


	12. Count On Me (matchmaker lou grover)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lou Grover: Yenta Extraordinaire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Count On Me - Mat Kearney
> 
> I wrote this because Lou Grover has a hobby of matchmaking and no one can tell me different... because it's hilarious.

**Count On Me**

(mcdanno, lou grover yenta, [count on me - mat kearney](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FANROVxej50))

 

_“You can count on me_

_When you cannot see_

_Let me spell it out_

_Plain and simple now_

_When your number’s called_

_Back’s against the wall_

_Pick you up when you fall_

_Be there when you call…”_

 

Lou Grover is an official member of Five-0 for all of about a day when he gets sick of it. Before now he’s only been exposed to the Steve and Danny Show in small doses. He doesn’t know how Chin and Kono have managed to deal with it for so long without snapping.

Chin just smiles enigmatically and Kono says they’ve built up an immunity to it over the years when he asks. It doesn’t preclude them from wanting to smack Steve and Danny’s heads together, so if he’s got a plan they’re in.

It devolves from there.

Lou tries subtle hints. He tries suggestion, bluntly asking and making observations. They are either willfully stubborn, willfully ignorant or blatantly oblivious. Lou suspects it’s a combination of all three.

Renee thinks it’s hilarious because this is not the first time Lou has played matchmaker.

He starts setting them up on dates. Oh, he doesn’t call them dates. He invites them out for dinner or drinks after work. Everyone’s going so neither them suspect anything. Only no one shows up. Danny and Steve spend a lot of time alone together in date like surroundings.

Nothing happens.

And then they start seeing a marriage counselor.

The irony is lost on exactly zero of them.

Lou decides it’s time to get Grace involved. It takes some work and strategic maneuvering in order to have a private conversation with her, but Kono and Chin help out and it happens. It takes no effort at all to convince her to help. She bounces up out of her seat and wanders over to Danny and Steve asking for shave ice.

While they’re waiting in line with her she asks innocently “Danno, when are you and Daddy getting married?”

Lou barely contains his laugh as Danny splutters and Steve stares. Grace continues on as if she didn’t notice. She takes Steve’s hand and swings them between their bodies. She turns her pleading gaze on Steve and says “I want to be the flower girl, but if we wait too much longer I’ll be too old and have to be a bridesmaid only that won’t work, because you and Danno are boys. So I have to be the flower girl.”

“I don’t know Gracie” Steve tells her. His voice is gentle and he’s in awe of being called ‘daddy’. “We haven’t really talked about.”

“Well talk about it” Grace tells him, frowning. She accepts her shave ice and heads back over to the table where Lou, Chin and Kono are barely containing themselves. She turns about halfway there and says “I think this summer would be good, because then when school starts again I can be Grace Williams-McGarrett.”

Lou gives her a high five when she sits primly down between him and Chin. Chin tells her she did a good job and Kono gives her twenty bucks and tells her the show was so great Grace deserves a tip.

“I’m serious about the flower girl thing” she tells all three of them.

A week later Lou catches them kissing in the office and says “It’s about damn time.”

Steve and Danny spring apart in surprise as Chin hands Kono a fifty with a good natured grin and Kono dances off singing about Steve and Danny sitting in a tree.

Grace gets to be the flower girl.


	13. Unpack Your Heart (career day with grace)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grace wants Steve to come to Career Day, because he's never done it before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unpack Your Heart - Phillip Phillips

**Unpack Your Heart**

(grace, career day, [unpack your heart - phillip phillips](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myHWD6Pch8U))

_“Oh, I’m on your side_

_So shed your shadow_

_And watch it rise_

_Into your darkness_

_I’ll shine a light…”_

__

When Grace found out about Career Day she hid the flyer and didn’t tell her mother. Rachel would insist that Grace take Stan instead of her Danno or Steve and she just… Stan’s job is boring. So Grace hid the flyer and resolved not to tell her mother about it. Instead she waited for Friday when Danno picked her up from school for the weekend to talk about it.

“Danno?”

“Yeah, Monkey?”

She fidgeted a bit and bit her lip “Would you be upset if we had Career Day and I didn’t bring you?”

Danny looked at his daughter in the backseat and raised his eyebrows “I could never be upset with you about that. Did you want to invite Stan?”

“No. Stan’s boring” Grace said. “It’s just, you came with me last year and…”

Danny waited patiently for her to finish her thought as they waited for a traffic light to change. She was working up to asking for what she really wanted, and he had a suspicion that he knew what it was.

“Daddy’s never been to Career Day” Grace said finally.

Danny is more surprised that she just called Steve ‘Daddy’ than the fact that she wants him to go with her. Not that Steve being Daddy isn’t okay, because Danny is just fine being Grace’s Danno. Also it will mean the whole world to Steve when he hears it.

“No, he hasn’t. Are you worried Daddy won’t want to go with you?” Danny asked her.

“A little.”

“Well I’m sure he won’t. In fact I’ll bet he’ll be really excited.”

“Do you think he would wear his uniform?”

“I’m sure he would if you asked him to” Danny told her.

*

Grace liked Steve’s house. It’s old and creaky with stories and she has her own room. Danny sleeps in the big bed in Steve’s room with him instead of on the couch. Also she has a private beach when she spends time there which is better than all of the toys Stan has a habit of buying her to try to win her affection.

Steve is pulling tuna steaks and pineapple off the grill when they get home. Grace toed off her shoes and left them in the pile by the door and put her backpack on the couch as she passed it and was out the big french doors at the back in a flash.

Steve raised an elbow so that when she collided with his side she didn’t hit her head and grinned down at her “Hey Gracie, how was school?”

Grace gives him a smile that melts him a little and moves to set the table while she talks. “It was good.”

Danny appeared at Steve’s side and Steve wrapped an arm around his shoulder. He finished with the grill and the trio sat to eat dinner. Grace is halfway through her tuna and most of her grilled pineapple salad is gone before she speaks again.

“Daddy?”

Danny has to elbow Steve to get him to respond because. He looks dazed, but he clears his throat “Yes, Gracie?”

“Will you go to Career Day with me?”

“You don’t want Danno to go with you?”

“Danno came last year” Grace said and looked up at him. “It’s your turn.”

“We’re alternating” Danny tells Steve. The look on Danny’s face told him to not say no or so help him. Steve is still stunned over being called Daddy to say no, not that he would anyway.

“I see. Well then Grace, I would love to come to Career Day with you. When is it?”

Grace mumbled something around a bite of fish and Steve’s eyebrows crawled upward.

“What was that kiddo? I didn’t hear you through all the fish.”

“Monday.”

“Grace -” Danny begins, but Grace cuts him off.

“I didn’t say anything because if Mom found out she would have made me take Stan” she said quickly. She turns a wide-eyed look on Steve “Stan is _boring_ , Daddy.”

Danny snorted and Steve noticed he was trying very hard to keep a straight face. Steve nodded seriously “I’ll have to convince my boss, but I think we can swing it.”

Grace giggled because Steve was the boss of Five-0 and he didn’t need to ask for a day off because the Governor is the only person above him in the chain of command and one doesn’t bother the Governor of Hawaii over days off.

“Can you wear your uniform?” she asks him later when they’re doing the dishes.

“I’ll see what I can do” Steve told her and then flicked bubbles at her.

*

Steve was the tallest parent there. He was also the only one in uniform and he was being eyeballed by the other adults lining the back of Grace’s third grade classroom. Several of the looks are hostile and Steve can’t decide if it’s because a couple of the men are pissed off because they won’t be the most interesting parent presented or if they find him intimidating.

He decides to go with both and winks at Grace when she turns in her seat to make sure he’s still there.

The man at the front of the room is an electrical engineer and Steve forgot his name the second he was introduced. His ten minutes are almost over and Steve is starting to get impatient because this is the sixth presentation and it was almost lunchtime.

“Thank you Mr. Thompson” Ms. Faday says as the guy finishes up. “Does anyone have any questions?” No hands go up so the teacher continues on “Alright, well then Grace why don’t you introduce us to your parent?”

Grace jumps up and she’s grinning. She reaches for him and Steve steps forward to take her hand. She pulls him to the front of the room and turns to face her class and Steve puts his cover on her head. The kids laugh as it covers her eyes and she pushes the hat back to grin up at him.

“This is my Daddy, Steve. He’s my SuperSEAL and he’s a Lieutenant Commander in the Navy” Grace introduces.


	14. Everybody (teacher!au part 3)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things progress and they all go bowling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everybody - Ingrid Michaelson
> 
> I don't know where the bowling came from, but it was fun to write. I don't even really care for bowling. *shrugs*

**Everybody**

(teacher!au part 3, [everybody - ingrid michaelson](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlFCfkyuQM0))

 

_"Happy is the heart that still feels pain_   
_Darkness drains and light will come again_   
_Swing open up your chest and let it in_   
_Just let the love, love, love begin..."_

They go on several dates before Danny sits down with Grace to talk about it. He'd wanted to know if there was potential for a real relationship before involving his daughter. Steve understood that. Steve agreed because Steve has a son that will get attached just as quickly as Grace.

So they go on several dates. They go to dinner, they see a show. Steve drags Danny hiking to see the petroglyphs John used to take he and Mary to when they were kids. Danny cancels a couple of times because of cases.

When Danny finally sits Grace down they're eating dinner at a burger joint Danny found and fell in love with during his first week in Hawaii. Grace is dipping sweet potato fries in ranch dressing and Danny is doing his best not to drip anything on his shirt and tie.

"Grace, what would you think of me dating someone?"

Grace looks up at him and she has ketchup on her upper lip "Depends."

"On what, Monkey?"

"Do they make you happy?"

Danny smiles "I think they really could make me happy."

"Then I'm okay with it" Grace shrugs. She takes a big bite of her burger and then asks "Who is it?"

"Mr. McGarrett."

Grace looks at her father. Danny is watching her carefully and they have both forgotten about their food. Danny continues "I get that it might be really weird for you, seeing as he's your teacher, so I won't see him if you don't want me to."

Grace thoughtfully swirls a fry in her ranch dressing and Danny tells himself not to hold his breath. When she finally speaks her words make Danny's breath come out in a rush of relief. "I like Mr. McGarrett. You can date him if you want to. Do I still have to call him Mr. McGarrett though?"

Danny smiles "You will at school, and at any school activities, but not at home or when we're out just us."

"Okay."

Grace goes back to her burger. Danny, relieved, goes back to his.

*

They decide that for their first family outing that bowling is a good idea. Well, Brandon thinks it’s an awesome idea. He overhears Steve suggest it on the phone and screams very loudly that they must all go bowling. They must.

So, bowling it is.

Danny and Grace get to the bowling alley first and Danny asks for the humiliating bumpers on and one of those carts for rolling your ball off of if you need help. He’s getting shoes for him and Grace and Grace has run off to look for the perfect ball when Steve and Brandon arrive.

Steve says hello with a smile but Brandon is having none of this pleasantries business and wants down, thanks Daddy. He takes off like a rocket and Grace intercepts him. Brandon accepts this and then Steve and Danny are there to help life balls and put on shoes.

“You have your own ball” Danny says.

Steve reddens but unzips his bag and pulls out a pretty dark red ball and wipes over it with the soft cloth he stores with it. He sets it on the ball turnstile and bends to put on his shoes and notices something else. A second bowling bag and it’s sitting right next to Danny.

“Pot, meet kettle” Steve says with a grin.

Danny smirks, unashamed and out comes a dark green ball and when he sets it next to Steve’s they both notice that the colors compliment each other very well.

Grace appears toting a lurid pink ball and Brandon is following rolling a bright yellow one. The look of deep concentration on his face is adorable and he’s got his tongue poking out from between his lips. When Danny turns to point out how cute Brandon looks Steve is sitting at the monitor inputting their names with the exact same expression on his face.

Danny is in so much trouble.

Then he looks up at the big monitor over their heads and sighs “Really, Steven?”

“What?”

In order the score screen reads: 1 Gracie 2 Bran 3 Danno and 4 Daddy. Danny rolls his eyes but doesn’t say anything else. Grace goes first and her ball bounces down the lane off the bumpers but it doesn’t hop lanes so Danny calls it a win.

Grace insists on helping Brandon. She lifts his yellow ball onto the rack and helps him push it off so it rolls down and then slowly down the lane. Steve tilts his head and he’s watching intently and frowning and then the ball stops rolling halfway down the lane and Steve sighs.

“Don’t worry Babe, I got this” Danny tells him. He picks up his ball and steps up to take Brandon’s second shot. He aims perfectly and the momentum of his ball hitting Brandon’s forces the yellow ball to roll the rest of the way down into the gutter.

No pins are knocked down.

This is a spectacular start to bowling night. It’s fabulous. They have a blast and eat too many nachos. It takes Brandon no time at all to start calling Danny Danno just like Grace does and he doesn’t really mind. Grace accidently calls Steve Daddy once and she goes bright red. She’d taken over monitoring the scorecard. Steve doesn’t call her on it, but he does smile softly at her.

By the time they’ve played an entire game Brandon is mostly asleep on Steve who takes his final shot handicapped with a toddler in his arms. Danny helps get Brandon back into his regular shoes and then takes him so Steve can change his.

Grace skips ahead of them as they leave the bowling alley and Steve grabs Danny’s hand as they walk out the cars. Steve straps Brandon into his carseat and gets two armfuls of Grace as soon as he’s done. She sets her chin on his stomach and grins up at him “Can we do this again?”

“I think that can be arranged” Steve tells her.

“Here, Monkey” Danny hands Grace the keys. “I’ll be there in a minute.”

Grace heads for the camaro and the two men look at each other before Danny huffs and reaches up and pulls Steve down into a kiss. Steve gets with the program very quickly and kisses him back. It’s long and gentle and perfect because there’s all kinds of unspoken feelings and promises in it.

They pull apart laughing when Grace leans on the horn of the camaro.

“Next week?” Steve asks, pressing their foreheads together.

“I’ll make sure she gets her homework done and we’ll go to that street fair.”

“Deal.”

They seal it with another kiss.


	15. Clown (danny vs the world (but not steve) part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A sort of sequel to chapter 10, Beggin' For Thread.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Clown - Emeli Sande
> 
> So it's kind of companiony to chapter 10, Beggin' For Thread. It's really just a little blurby from Danny's pov but it is what it is.

**Clown**

(danny vs rachel, mcdanno, [clown - emeli sande](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OHX_PA25Ok))

 

_“I’d be smiling if I wasn’t so desperate_

_I’d be patient if I had the time_

_I could stop and consider all of your questions_

_As soon as I find out_

_How I can move from the back of the line…”_

 

Rachel develops a habit of doing her utmost to humiliate Danny very early on. The second they start having problems it takes her approximately five point nine seconds longer to start blaming him for everything. She takes everything she can in the divorce including Grace.

Rachel drags him through hell and he compromises and capitulates a heck of a lot more than he ever thought he would. It’s all for Grace. He would never give Rachel anything if it wasn’t for Grace.

Two weeks after it’s all final and she’s getting married to Stan.

Four months after the wedding and she’s giving him court papers that say he doesn’t get a say in them moving to Hawaii. They are and if he wants his visitation to continue he has to move as well. He follows, because of course he does.

It turns out to be the best thing he’s ever done.

He’s never let Rachel bring him down. He’s too stubborn for that, but he gets Steve out of the whole fiasco so some part of him feels an obligated sort of thankfulness to her. It’s horrifying and he hates it, but there it is.

The day he gets joint custody of Grace he gets dragged back into the courthouse by his neanderthal and they’re walking back out two hours later legally bound together in a Civil Union. Steve is ecstatic and Danny is too so he lets Steve drag him to the jewelers and they pick out matching bands made out of titanium.

Danny insists on the titanium. With the crap Steve pulls on a daily basis their wedding rings had better be able to withstand a nuclear blast, that’s all he’s saying.

So he’s got joint custody of his kid, he just got remarried, he’s got a really good job.

He’s happy.

And it’s all because of Rachel.

He decides that the next time he sees her he's going to say thank you. It will completely freak her out and it'll give him something to lord over her. It's a win-win.


	16. Action Man (neighbors!au)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Awkward flirting with your neighbor via cat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Action Man - Hafdis Huld
> 
> I couldn't resist. Mr. Pickles is amazing.

**Action Man**

(neighbors!au, [action man - hafdis huld](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FW1RfHoHkNw))

 

_“We’ll have a moment in slow motion_

_And I replay in my head all the clever_

_Things I could have said…”_

 

Mr. Pickles is huge and fluffy and white and Danny hates him with every fibre of his being. There’s something to be said about a cat that is so smug that it believes it owns your apartment by sole merit of having neighboring balconies. Danny finds long white hairs all over everything and the cat isn’t even _his_ , dammit.

Grace loves Mr. Pickles.

In Danny’s eyes, the only redeeming quality Mr. Pickles has is his owner. Steve is a tall drink of water with amazing eyes and an even better ass. He’s also in the military if the uniforms are anything to go by.

Danny takes his coffee on his balcony in the mornings because of that man. Steve runs in the mornings and it is a beautiful thing to watch him go… And to watch him return. In the summer he’s down to just his shorts even and the chest is as nice as the ass.

Danny has never found tattoos attractive before, but there is nothing about Neighbor Steve that isn’t attractive.

Mr. Pickles likes to visit Danny a lot and Danny uses it as an excuse to talk to Steve. Knocking on his door at all hours and dumping the cat in his arms. Steve is adorable when sleepy. Danny has the urge to lick his abs fairly often.

The problem is… well Danny can’t talk to him. Not that he hasn’t tried, but well, all that ever comes out are complaints about Mr. Pickles. Talking to a person about their cat does not flirting make. It mostly makes for the guy thinking his neighbor hates him, his cat and everything to do with them.

It’s late. Danny was woken up being smothered by Mr. Pickles _again_. He’s finally had enough because he wants to scream about the cat but also hump the cat’s owner. He grabs the cat around his middle and shuffles through his apartment and out into the hall. He hits the doorbell several times and then pounds on the door several times.

The door swings open and there is Steve, blinking stupidly and clad in a pair of low slung pants.

Danny shoves the cat into his chest “Your cat.”

Steve takes Mr. Pickles “Sorry?”

Danny’s eyes narrow at the tone in Steve’s voice and he looks at him very hard in the yellow hallway light. “You are not sorry” he states. Which, you know, he’s really really not. In fact, Neighbor Steve is smirking at him a little.

Danny’s eyes narrow “Have you been sending your cat in my direction?”

“Got your attention, didn’t it?”

“Oh my god, you goof!” Danny exclaims. “There are easier ways to flirt with a person!”

“Okay” Steve says, then he reaches out with one hand and drags Danny into a kiss. Danny reaches up and holds onto Steve and kisses back.

Between them, Mr. Pickles yowls in protest of being squashed.


	17. Jackdaw (snuggles)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Early morning snuggles in the McDanno household.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jackdaw - David Gray

**Jackdaw**

(mcdanno, sleeping, [jackdaw - david gray](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bC0Jbl-IJqw))

 

_“Baby come on_

_We’ll be a long time gone_

_There’s enough time for sleep_

_And hey now don’t run and hide_

_Your little heart away…”_

 

There is gray, early light crawling between the slats in the blinds and spilling over the edge of the bed. It curls warming fingers over calf muscles and blue sheets. The sheets are rumpled and calm, sleep worn and dryer soft. They hush the light, doing their best to slow it down as it slowly creeps up the bed. It warms exposed bits of skin as it goes.

The sleepers are curled around each other. Someone’s leg is outside the sheets and hooked around another calf. There’s an arm slung low on a waist and a cheek resting on a bicep. There are lips close enough to blonde hair that every breath out moves the strands.

It is very early. The morning birds are quick to inform the world that it is time to get up. The sun is out, so therefore so must everyone else be. The blonde man in the bed flinches when the slats of light hit his face. He pulls away with a grumble, rolling a little with a whisper of sheets and tucks his face into the neck of his bed partner.

The arms holding him tighten in response and they both settle down again.

It is Sunday and the first day they’ve had off in a month. They are together, neither of them is hurt and they have nowhere to be. It is enough for them to be together. They have no plans except to stay in bed as long as possible. No workouts, no work, no nothing.

The shirt the taller one is wearing has ridden up in the night and the blonde tucks one hand up inside it to settle over a beating heart. He settles again, the light unable to reach him where he is now. The taller one barely stirs.

The door to the bedroom opens with nary a whisper of sound. The hinges are oiled and happy to open. A girl walks into the room. She is dragging a pink and purple blanket and wearing a huge US Navy t-shirt that had been absconded with and then never returned. She examines the two in the bed for a long moment, looking for the perfect spot in the bed, then she moves forward.

The bed barely dips under her weight and the blanket rasps up legs and over the sheets to settle mostly off to one side as she settles in the small vee of space between one torso and the other. She wiggles and the two men move to accommodate her. One big hand comes up to stroke through her hair and a pair of sleepy blue eyes crack open long enough to pick a target and a kiss is pressed to her forehead.

The blonde wraps an arm around the girl and pulls her into his chest. She entwines her fingers with his and replaces their hands on the dark man’s chest over his heart. His head turns so that it rests against the blondes and slowly all three figures fall back to sleep.

Days off, though few and far between, are nice. The sun agrees and settles.


	18. I Belong To You (haunted!au part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny inherits a house... and the ghost that lives in it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I Belong To You - Caro Emerald
> 
> I've been wanting an excuse to do a Haunted!AU for a while now. The feel of this song seemed to fit it. It ended because I didn't know where else to take it. *shrugs*

**I Belong To You**

(mcdanno, haunted!au, [i belong to you - caro emerald](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYNUg5j7tr0))

 

_“That I belong to you_

_That endless nights so far away are gone, and you_

_Could never love another._

_And I love you too_

_I see it up above and now I feel the truth…”_

 

Danny inherits the house from a Great Aunt he hadn’t known he had. Apparently she’d been at his christening and that was it. She went back to England and they never really heard from her again. She was the strange relative no one really admitted they had so most of them forgot she existed.

Of course, up until she died and everyone remembered that she may have been strange and reclusive but the old lady had been loaded.

Most of the money went to charity, Mom got a few pieces of furniture and each of the great nieces and nephews got fledgeling college funds. They wouldn’t pay for four years of tuition, but they would pay a goodly portion or they would cover four years of housing expenses, so they were nothing to scoff at.

Danny was the only kid to get anything. He had four sisters and Matty and untold cousins but Danny was the only one to inherit anything. It’s a house. A big ass manor house just outside London. A big ass house and all its contents.

Danny doesn’t have any clue what to do with a big house in another country.

He is still trying to figure it out when Rachel sits him down to tell her that she’s moving back to England. Her visa is up and she’s taking Grace with her. Danny is grateful that he has somewhere to go when he follows them across the Atlantic.

Because of course he follows. This is Grace, his daughter.

The day he arrives is gray and rainy. The taxi pulls up the drive and there is a butler to greet him. A butler that calls him Sir. And there’s a housekeeper too. And a lawyer waiting for him.

Danny signs a lot of paperwork and discovers that the house not only comes with a good fifty acres but also the household accounts. Some of the land has been leased to local farmers for cattle grazing, so that’s some income. Danny decides to leave the leases alone. A little extra money coming in never hurt and why put out the cows? The interest on the account pays the salaries of the staff and the house is big enough to need staff. The amount in the account is enough for Danny to live on comfortably for a decade or more if he’s careful.

Danny was not meant for a life of leisure though, so he still plans to go through the examinations required to work for Scotland Yard as a Detective Inspector.

After the lawyer leaves and Danny has digested that he’s a fairly wealthy man now, he settles down for a dinner made by the housekeeper and then the house darkens with the weather and the sinking sun and he’s alone in the big, old creaky house by himself.

The house is creaky and as Danny settles into it he hears things. Sometimes he feels like he’s being watched and the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. There is no one there when he looks around.

He takes to wandering the house in his socks late at night. He pokes around in all the rooms. Looks under dust covers at old furniture and tinkles the keys on an out of tune grand piano. There are several crystal chandeliers that look like they haven’t been properly cleaned in years if not decades.

He gets used to the strange noises. Makes offers to the staff to keep them on at their current salaries for now. He speaks with Mrs. Haversham about cleaning the unused rooms. Explains about his daughter. They collaborate over which room would suit her and what to put in it to make it habitable for a ten year old.

Grace visits for a long weekend. She falls in love with the old house. Likes wandering around the closed up wing of the house and finding treasures long forgotten. It’s Grace that sees him the first time. She’s exploring the music room when she sees him sitting at the piano, fingers ghosting over the keys.

She says he looks so sad.

Danny takes it as a child’s imaginings at first. Until several days later when it’s late and the staff has all gone home and Danny hears the tinkle of out of tune piano keys. He takes a flashlight and goes down to the music room and stops in the hallway. There’s a flickering light coming through under the door.

Danny turns off the flashlight and peers through the cracked doorway.

There is a man sitting at the piano. He’s tall and dark haired and vaguely transparent. He’s wearing a uniform. Military of some kind, old fashioned. Danny watches him pluck forlornly at the piano keys and he agrees with Grace, he looks sad.

The next morning Danny asks Mr. Haversham to call a service to get the piano tuned. He says it’s because Grace is wanting lessons, but Mr. Haversham exchanges a look with Mrs. Haversham and all three of them know it isn’t for Grace.

Danny does some research in his free time between exams and training. He sees the man three more times and Grace comes over for another long weekend. He starts with Scotland Yard before he finds enough to put the pieces together enough.

The man’s uniform is Naval circa 1944. An Lieutenant Commander by the pins on his collar and highly decorated by the stripes on his jacket. The house was used as a command post by the US during the War and it housed officers from several military branches over the course of the War. After D-Day it was used as a convalescent hospital. A lot of wounded men had been shipped there to recover from their wounds before being shipped back stateside.

Danny could only assume that the man was one of them.

They have several more sightings of the man all over the manor. They hear the piano late at night and Mrs. Haversham is convinced to tell the story to Danny and Grace one afternoon.

The man is an officer who was wounded in the war. It was said that he received a letter from his sweetheart back home while he was recovering and it broke his heart. That he was so devastated that he just lost the will to live and let his wounds take him.

Grace thought it was so sad, Danny agreed.

Six months after the first sighting Danny decides stops by the music room to watch the man play a Bach concerto and decides to go into the room. He walks in and slowly crosses the room. The officer’s playing never wavers and Danny is struck by the thought that maybe the ghost isn’t aware of Danny at all.

So Danny sits next to him on the piano bench.

His idea that the ghost is unaware of him is shot down when he finishes the piece and begins to play the _Claire de Lune_ and offers him a small smile. It’s small and grateful, like he’d been lonely for a long time and it was nice to have some interaction. Danny returns it and listens to him play for a while before he retreats to his bed.

After that the ghost takes it as permission to appear in the same room as Danny. They learn that while Danny can talk to him, the ghost seems unable to talk back. He tries, oh does he try, but his voice is lost in the space between them and Danny can’t hear his words.

It’s frustrating, but they work their way around it.

Danny begins finding things left out for him. Old books and newspapers. Through this form of communication Danny learns that his ghost’s name is Steven McGarrett. Danny and Grace spend a weekend on google and at the library and discover that Steven McGarrett was Naval Intelligence in the war. He’d been decorated with a Navy Cross and several Purple Hearts and he was wounded badly enough for his war to be over in January of 1945.

Grace found the letter that Mrs. Haversham talked about under a floorboard in one of the backrooms of the closed east wing. It’s addressed to Steve and the contents explain that Steve’s mother had been killed in a car crash and that his father had been caught in a robbery and died trying to stop it. Danny thought it interesting that Steve’s father was a cop like Danny.

The letter was signed by someone named Mary, who informed Steve that she was being sent to live with their Aunt Deb and that the house was being sold.

Steve’s war was over and he had no home to go back to.

His body was broken and his heart had followed.

His spirit had remained behind for over seventy years.

So Danny has a giant manor house in England. Grace spends every other weekend with him. He has a butler, a housekeeper and a ghost. A ghost he grows accustomed to and even likes.

It takes him a while to catch on that he loves his ghost.

It takes him even longer than that to realize his ghost loves him back.


	19. Shots (introspective steve)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve is a tired warrior who doesn't let people close after his mother dies. Until Danny.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shots - Imagine Dragons
> 
> Sort of a little blurby about Steve in the years between being sent away and then returning to Hawaii in episode one. It ties inn with a few of the headcanons I have about him.

**Shots**

(steve is a tired warrior, [shots - imagine dragons](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndtQ6ReXO-s))

 

_“From the second that I was born it seems I had a loaded gun_

_And then I shot, shot, shot a hole through everything I loved_

_Oh, I shot, shot, shot a hole through every single thing that I loved…”_

 

When his mother dies and his father ships him off to the mainland Steve learns that nothing is permanent, not even family. Especially not family. He’s old enough that it’s only six months and then he’s starting at Annapolis, but Mary is fifteen. She’s a freshman in high school suddenly without her mother, her father her older brother or anything remotely familiar.

It becomes very hard to talk to her.

He takes to the Navy like the proverbial fish to water. He learns, he strives, he excels. He goes into Naval Intelligence and the second he becomes eligible for BUDs he’s off. Navy SEAL training is the hardest thing he’s ever been through and he blasts through that at the top of his class.

He keeps people at arm's length, because fool him once.

It isn’t a easy life, but it’s his and he’s proud of what he’s accomplished. He’s content with the relationships he does have, vague as they are. The closest he gets to settling down is Cath and he knows she’s not the type to want a husband and kids and white picket fence. It’s perfect.

Until it isn’t.

Going home to Hawaii is nothing like he ever thought it would be when he gave himself to luxury to think about it. He chases Victor Hesse across the island riding the emotional turmoil of his father’s murder. He puts at least three bullets in the man and there’s a brash, headstrong, stubborn blonde watching his back.

When the water settles and the ringing in his ears stops he realizes three things. 1 Victor Hesse is nowhere to be found and Steve won’t be happy until he’s either behind bars or dead. 2 He’s staying in Hawaii because he took a job heading up the Governor’s new Task Force. 3 There’s a short blonde with more verve and opinion in his little finger than Steve has in his entire body standing next to him.

The first one he’ll deal with. There’s nowhere on the face of the planet that Hesse will be able to hide from him.

The second one he’ll figure out. He expects to do a lot of making it up as he goes along.

The third one makes him more happy than he ever thought he was capable of after his mother died. He figures he’ll wing it with Danny as well, because he’s sure as hell not giving him up.

The horizon hasn’t looked this clear in years and Steve likes being able to see all the colors again.


	20. Atticus (stressed steve)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven John McGarrett is a stress baker.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Atticus - The Noisettes
> 
> Steve the stress baker, because I could. And it's funny.

**Atticus**

(mcdanno, steve stress bakes, [atticus - the noisettes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XH9pD6r3KlE))

 

_“In my heart I can fly_

_And I cannot disguise my love_

_There is no time_

_And I wouldn’t know how…”_

 

Steve is a known health nut. He exercises for fun, eats things like chia seeds and wheat germ. He drinks horrifyingly green smoothies in the morning and bugs the people in his life about how much junk they eat and how they need to take care of themselves.

So it comes as a surprise to the entire team when they learn that when Steve is feeling extraordinarily stressed or worried, he bakes.

Steven John McGarrett is a stress baker.

It always starts small. A few loaves of dessert bread here, a batch of muffins there. Then it grows, slowly until Steve is going to the store specifically for baking ingredients instead of groceries. Baked goods take over the entire house. Cookies, cakes, breads of every kind. He makes toffee and caramel and candies fruit.

The only person not surprised by this is Mary. Their mother was the same way and every single time Steve gets this way he starts shipping her things overnight express. It doesn’t matter what job she’s got at the time, Mary is so inundated with food she has no choice but to foist them off on unsuspecting coworkers and neighbors.

For the longest time Mary is the only one Steve has to send things to. Sure, there’s his fellow Seals who have benefitted, and Cath knows about the baking thing… But knowing and seeing are two different things.

Like now, for example.

Steve hadn’t shown up at the office that morning, and he didn’t answer the phone when Danny called, so they had all climbed into the camaro and driven out to the McGarrett house. Danny has had a key for months now, so he lets them into the house. When the door swings open they are immediately assaulted with the smell of baked sugar and yeast.

There are plates and baskets and bowls of baked goodies on every flat surface. Kono snatches a muffin with nuts and berries in it as they make their way into the kitchen.

Danny has to ask “Did you rob a bakery?”

Steve looks up and he’s got a mixing bowl in front of him and flour on one cheek and a big spoon in one hand and he’s got giant shadows under his eyes. Eyes which are just a little wild and his hair is sticking up.

“Aw, Babe” Danny says with concern. “When was the last time you slept?”

Steve’s eyes flicker around the room, land on the clock and he flinches. Danny sighs and Chin reaches over the counter and forcibly extracts the spoon from Steve’s white-knuckled grip. Steve turns the crazy eyes on Chin and doesn’t notice Danny step up next to him and place a hand on his arm until it’s too late.

Steve jumps at the same time as the house phone starts shrilling at them.

Kono unearths it from a pile of croissants and turns it on speaker “McGarrett Family Bakery.”

“Oh thank god” Mary’s voice comes through the phone. “Kono, is that you?”

“Yeah, Chin and Danny are here too.”

“Okay, look, tell my brother to stop sending me baked goods. I get it, he’s in love and doesn’t know how to deal with it, but I’ve gained ten pounds and my coworkers won’t take anymore of this crap.”

“Sure…” Kono trails off.

Mary sounds suspicious “Has he got the crazy eyes? Danny, does Steve have the crazy eyes?”

“Yup” Danny says. He pats Steve’s arm when he looks at him with a betrayed look. “He’s covered in flour and I don’t think he’s slept.”

Mary inhaled audibly over the connection. “Okay, this stops now. Steven, you’re going to let Danny take care of you. You’re going to take a shower, get some sleep and tell him how much you love him, okay?”

Steve is white and hss eyes are wide, but he nods wordlessly.

“He’s nodding, Mary” Kono says.

“Alright then. Danny?”

“Yeah, Mary?”

“You break his heart I’ll fly out there and run you over with your car.”

“Deal.”

Mary hangs up the phone and Chin tells Danny around a merengue “Go on, we got this.”

“Just don’t make yourselves sick” Danny says, taking Steve’s hands and leading him from the room. “And if you find any snickerdoodles, hands off those are mine!”

He can hear Chin and Kono laughing as he leads the silent Steve up the stairs. They enter the bedroom and Danny nudges Steve toward the bathroom. Steve makes a protesting noise and Danny can’t help but smile and huff a laugh. “Don’t worry, you big goof, I’m not going anywhere.”

Steve turns big, tired eyes on Danny and switches his gaze between the bathroom and Danny like he’s afraid Danny will vanish as soon as his back is turned.

Danny smiles softly at him “Don’t worry, you big worry-wort. I love you too and when you’ve had some sleep we’re gonna have a talk about how stress baking is only a healthy outlet if you don’t let it get out of hand.”

Steve smiled tiredly and Danny couldn’t miss the love in his expression. He nudged him again “Go.”

Steve goes.


	21. Somewhere Only We Know (cat lady!chin)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chin Ho Kelly is a crazy cat lady.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somewhere Only We Know - Keane
> 
> I couldn't resist. It made me giggle too much.

Loosely inspired by [Phil Coulson Is Not A Crazy Cat Lady](http://archiveofourown.org/works/720149/chapters/1334979) by [nyargles](http://archiveofourown.org/users/nyargles/pseuds/nyargles). Read it, it's worth it.

For your pleasure, these are the kitties. Yes, I did put actual thought and time on google into this. What? 

Steve - [Egyptian Mau](http://www.assetsoflife.com/The-Cat-Place/Cat%20Images/Egyptian%20Mau.2.JPG)      Danny - [Tabby](http://www.kimballstock.com/pix/CAT/02/CAT-02-JE0307-01P.JPG)     Grace - [Tabby](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lqhg16R2Cv1qzdtfao1_500.jpg)     Kono - [Tortoiseshell](http://www.catbreedspic.co/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/chocolate-tortoiseshell-and-white-cat-photo---wp16631-pvmft9qf.jpg)     Cath - [Blue Point Siamese](http://www.life-with-siamese-cats.com/images/traditional-siamese-cats-02.jpg)     Lou - [Norwegian Forest Cat](http://norwegianforestcatsusa.com/MuffinNorwegianForestCatDamLg.jpg)     Kamekona - [Maine Coon](http://petupon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/maine-coon-cat.jpg)     Jerry - [Persian](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/88/6c/24/886c243859932843abae426a9cf16b86.jpg)     Max - [Calico](http://www.findcatnames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/callico-cat-names-2-.jpg)

 

**Somewhere Only We Know**

(chin ho kelly is a crazy cat lady, [somewhere only we know - keane](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oextk-If8HQ))

 

_"Oh simple thing where have you gone?_

_I'm getting old and I need something to rely on..."_

 

Chin’s life is a giant accident. He has a soft spot for small animals and an inability to say no whenever Malia at the clinic calls to ask when he’s bringing home the stray he brought in a few days before. She’s beautiful, Chin is a sucker and she thinks it’s adorable that he rescues stray cats in his off hours.

Well, mostly on his off hours. His fellow officers at HPD joke about his habit.

Chin is the crazy cat lady of the Honolulu Police Department and he can’t even be bothered to bothered by it.

When he gets home from his shift Kamekona is lying innocently in the front hall looking at the door expectantly. The gigantic maine coon is the laziest thing Chin has ever seen, also the greediest and most possessive.

Chin doesn’t have time for his antics because he’s got a dark gray, crazy looking persian in a cat carrier that yowled the whole way home from the clinic. He looks at Kamekona and says “Get off her right now, Kame.”

Kamekona lifts his hindquarters and the pretty blue point siamese that had been pinned underneath him wiggles out from her trapped position and darts for freedom on top of the bookcase. Cath sits there at the top where she knows Kamekona can’t reach her and bathes her paws with disdain and elegance.

“Merow?” is stated at his ankles and Chin smiles down at Kono. She’s a brown and white tortoiseshell with the speed and flexibility of a born mouser. When she sees she’s got his attention she sits prettily in front of him and deposits a mouse at his feet.

“Thank you” Chin tells her. He steps over the dead mouse and reminds himself to clean it up when he’s got their newest addition settled in the living room.

Max is in his customary spot on top of Lou in the armchair. The only part of his calico coat that doesn’t blend in with the norwegian forest cat below him are the white patches. Max looks up when Chin enters the room and he and Lou come over to investigate. They sniff at the carrier and make inquiring noises.

Chin sets the carrier down on the coffee table and opens the door. Black and gray fur bolts out of the carrier and under the couch. Chin shrugs to himself and heads for the kitchen because it’s dinner time for humans and cats alike.

There is a cat bed on top of the china hutch’s counter in the dining room. Chin takes stock of the bed’s contents and pats Steve on the head. The silver egyptian mau is the only one awake and he’s curled around a mass of purring orange tabby. Chin knows that if he digs a little that mass of orange will separate into both Danny and baby Grace..

Kono follows on Chin’s heels and Cath lands on the counter because she’s still avoiding Kamekona and Chin can’t help but wonder how long the giant ball of fur had been sitting on her. Cath is his newest addition save for Jerry who Chin is certain will spend the week under the couch. She had come to him from a cousin as a cat sitting deal and had just stayed.

Chin feeds the kitties, feeds himself and unearths tiny Grace from Danny and Steve. Steve watches like a hawk whenever Grace is taken away and Danny yowls a protest.

“Don’t worry guys, it’s dinner” Chin reassures.

Grace is still being weaned. Rachel, the neighbor’s cat had abandoned her litter on the porch and Grace was the only one to survive. Chin was convinced Danny’s Grace’s other parent, they look too much alike. Steve had taken one look at the kitten Danny was carting around and accepted his role as substitute parent readily.

Eventually dinner is over, Grace is returned to her place with Danny and Steve and Chin finds sheets from the newspaper creating a trail from the recycle bin to the space beneath the couch. Great, Jerry’s a hoarder cat. Chin sighs and heads for bed because this is his life somehow.

When Chin finally makes it into bed Cath is daintily curled up on the spare pillow watching Kamekona with a flicking tail as the giant cat spreads out over the side of the bed. Chin shoves him out of the way and gets into bed himself. There’s a tinkle of bells and one, two, three right on time.

Kono jumps up onto the bed and joins Cath on the pillow. Lou makes himself at home in the laundry basket. Max walks around the room for a minute before climbing into the laundry with Lou.

Chin reads for a while and during this time Danny comes into the room, Grace dangling from his mouth. He jumps up onto the cat stand and settles into the bed placed at the very top, sets down his precious cargo and starts to wash her. A few minutes later and Jerry sprints into the room and under the bed. When Chin leans over there’s a fluffy tail sticking out from underneath.

Steve comes into the room then, looking proud of himself. This means that he chased Jerry out from under the couch and into the bedroom. Steve does a patrol of the room as Chin clicks off his lamp and settles down to sleep.

There’s a light thud and Steve’s gleaming eyes join Danny and Grace atop the tower and the whole house settles for the night.

Half an hour later Chin wakes up long enough to shove Kamekona off his face and rolls over.


	22. And Then You (teacher!au part 4)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another look inside the loves of Steve and Danny in the Teacher!AU

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Then You - Greg Laswell
> 
> I have no idea what I'm doing. I just can't seem to leave this alone for some reason.

**And Then You**

(mcdanno, teacher!au part 4, [and then you - greg laswell](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxHFokrqEF0))

 

_“How my days they spin me ‘round_

_And how today it sets me down_

_And how my days they spin me ‘round_

_And how today it sets me down_

_Alongside you…”_

 

Steve meets Rachel. With how things are going it’s inevitable. So Steve meets Rachel and Danny never realized how much he actually just dislikes his ex-wife until she spends an entire lunch sneering in disgust at Steve and Brandon. Steve for having the gall to be a teacher of all things and Brandon for being two and still getting the hang of utensils.

Danny apologizes profusely after Rachel leaves to meet up with Stan for their weekend getaway. Grace is sharing a sundae with Brandon and Danny is just exhausted and the weekend hasn’t even really gotten started yet.

Steve reaches over and squeezes his hand and smiles at him “Don’t worry about it. I’ve taken a lot worse.”

“Rachel is not a terrorist, Steven”  Danny says, because he just knows that that’s the kind of person Steve was secretly comparing Rachel to.

“No, she’s worse. She’s a snob” Steve says. “At least all a terrorist wants to do is kill you.”

“Who’s killing people?” Grace asks.

“No one’s killing anyone, Monkey” Danny says.

“Are we still going to the aquarium?” Grace wonders after shrugging at Danny’s answer.

“Yes!” Danny exclaims. “Let’s go to the aquarium!”

Steve laughs at him as he fishes in his wallet for a tip for their waitress. Danny deftly cleans ice cream off of Brandon’s face and hands with a wet wipe while the toddler chatters about fish and crabs and jellies. As soon as he’s on his feet he’s off like a rocket because this hotel has dolphin encounters and Brandon knows it.

Grace chases after him.

“And there they go” Steve says.

Danny lets Steve sling an arm around his shoulders as they head off after the kids “Are we actually going to the aquarium or are we going to be swimming with dolphins?”

“Oh, we’re going to the aquarium” Steve says confidently. “The aquarium has Manta Rays. Brandon loves those.”

“I’m going to hold all the crap they put us through over their heads for the rest of their lives” Danny says. “That way they’ll feel too guilty to ever put us in a home.”

Steve chuckles “I don’t care if we end up in a home so long as I’m there with you.”

“I am not spending my golden years playing checkers with you and eating food that reminds me of grade school” Danny snarks.

Steve laughs and they catch up with the kids and head for the aquarium. Steve is right, of course, Brandon freaks out about the manta rays. He loses it when they find out they arrived right at feeding time and he gets to help feed them.

“Steve?” Grace asks as they peer at the jellyfish. She’s holding his hand and watching them with more concentration than necessary.

“Yeah?” Steve asks.

“Are you and Danno gonna get married?”

Steve looks down at the top of her head “Do you want us to?”

“I think so” Grace says thoughtfully. “You make Danno happy and I wouldn’t mind it if Bran was my brother.”

“We’ll have to see” Steve says. “But just so you know, even if we never do, you can always be Bran’s big sister if you want.”

“Okay.”

*

The summer rolls on. Bowling becomes a weekly thing and sometimes John, Chin and Kono join them. Grace spends more time with Danny than Rachel likes, but Grace has learned how to not back down from both her parents. Besides it leaves Rachel with more time out with girlfriends or attending society parties.

The Williams duo gets to know the McGarrett house very well. They spend more of their time there than in Danny’s small apartment.

At the end of July Steve asks Danny to move in with him. When Danny asks, John just rolls his eyes and tells him the house is too big for just the three of them and to move his ass or he’ll share a bunk bed with Steve instead of the master bedroom.

So Danny moves in. They paint Mary’s old room for Grace and Steve dives into lesson plans for the upcoming year.

Cath comes to visit shortly after the move. Danny can’t help but like Brandon’s mother. She insists that she’s just Aunt Cath and she’s happy that Steve found someone that makes him happy. She’s actually pretty awesome and Danny can’t help going along with her wishes. Grace takes to calling her Aunt Cath just as easily as Brandon does.

It’s nice to not feel the need to hate an ex, even if that ex is Steve’s and not his.

“When did this happen?”

Steve looks up from the book he’s reading through “What?”

Danny waves his hand around “When did a cop from New Jersey meet and fall in love with a Navy SEAL that spends his days teaching third grade? Where did this family come from?”

“Hawaii” Steve replies. “It sneaks up on you when you’re not looking.”

“I think I like it.”

“Good because there’s no take backs in this game, babe.”

Danny chuckles and turns to leave “Dinner in ten.”

“Okay.”


	23. Where I Sleep (knowing where home is)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny goes to Jersey to tell his parents about Matty. Steve follows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Where I Sleep - Emeli Sande
> 
> Okay, so explanations. I don't particularly care for Danny's canonical parents. I think it's from years spent with having my own theories and feeling on the subject. So the Eddie and Clara I'm introducing here are my headcanon for the people that raised Danny.
> 
> I also gave Danny many sisters because I think it's hilarious and also an awesome explanation for how close Danny and Matty are because I've always felt like there's a decent age gap between them.
> 
> Also, I love this song and it was really hard to pick just one verse to use.

**Where I Sleep**

(mcdanno, [where i sleep - emeli sande](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVSZJlrM0UM))

 

_“I’ve said all of my goodbyes to ego_

_I gambled all I got, there’s no plan B_

_It’s the first time that I’ve learnt to let go_

_It’s the only place I feel, only place I feel like me…”_

 

When Matty gets on the plane and leaves Hawaii running for his life from some very bad people Danny knows he can’t tell his parents about what Matty’s gone and done over the phone. He doesn’t have to explain why, Steve just drives him to the airport the next morning and tells him that if he needs anything.

The further away from Hawaii Danny gets, the tighter the feeling in his chest becomes. He feels like he’s missing something. Some fundamental part of himself that he left behind when he shouldn’t have. It’s not the same as the feeling he gets when he’s separated from Grace. That is a feeling he knows, has grown used to.

This new feeling in his chest has his rubbing at it like there’s something physical he can do to fix it.

He takes a cab from the Newark airport to his parents house. He watches buildings and people pass with a sort of detached fascination. He knows these streets. Knows this city like the back of his hands. He watched his childhood flash by and it takes the entire drive out to his parent’s house to realize what’s wrong.

New Jersey isn’t home anymore.

His mother is excited to see him. She’s happy and babbling about how nice a surprise it is. His room is still upstairs, and he’ll stay with them no questions asked of course. His father knows there’s something wrong though. Eddie waits until they’re finished with dinner to ask.

So Danny tells them. What Matty did, where’s he’s gone. Clara cries because Matty is her baby, the youngest of the bunch and he’s gone and gotten himself in so much trouble she might never see him again.

Danny refrains from telling her there’s no maybe about it. They talk for a while. Eddie grills him for the details and Danny tells him. Clara makes noise about having a real family dinner. She’ll call his sisters in the morning and see if they can’t all come down for the evening.

Danny begs off to go to bed shortly after nine and his parents watch him trudge up the stairs of his childhood home with concern.

“He looks so tired” Clara says, worried, rising to shuffle around the room and rearrange things. What she really wants to do is chase after her son and hold onto him until everything is better like she used to when he was little.

“He just flew five thousand miles to give us bad news, Clar” Eddie says. “Stop fussing, he’ll be okay.”

She sits back down and they talk some more about Matty. Eddie will take a couple of his sons in law and go empty Matty’s apartment out. They’ll store everything in the garage, he doesn’t really need it for the car anyway. Clara will go to U Haul first thing for boxes. Once it’s all settled they sit on the couch holding hands and worrying about their children.

Clara is considering making her girls mad at her for calling in the middle of the night just to hear their voices when there’s a knock on the front door. Eddie gets up to answer it. It’s raining and there’s a tall, tired looking man on his doorstep.

He’s unshaven and he smiles “Mr. Williams, I’m sorry to disturb you, I’m Steve McGarrett.”

Eddie stares at his son’s partner for a moment before he ushers him into the house. He should have known, from the way Danny talks about him, that no matter how hard he tried Steve wouldn’t be able to leave Danny to deal with all of this alone.

“Come in, son” Eddie tells him.

“Thank you, sir” Steve says. He steps into the house and Eddie gets his first real good look at the man. He’s extremely tall and even better looking and Eddie decides Danny could do a hell of a lot worse.

Clara introduces herself with a kiss to Steve’s cheek and she brushes off his apology because he’s welcome in their home. She tells him where to find Danny and the Williams’ watch him go up the stairs and exchange a look that speaks volumes about how well Danny’s upgraded from Rachel.

Steve opens Danny’s room quietly after quickly changing in the bathroom. He throws his wet clothes over a chair in the corner and sets down his bag and creeps over to the shock of blonde hair he can barely see peeking out of the blankets.

He hesitates. “Get in here you giant goof.” Steve grins and climbs into the tiny twin sized bed and Danny rolls into him. Something tense in both of their shoulders vanishes at the contact.

“Thanks” Danny mutters into Steve’s chest.

*

In the morning Clara makes three five am phone calls and Danny sisters all appear with varying degrees of children in tow for breakfast and a day at Grandma’s. The husbands are directed out to help Eddie clear space in the garage and the kids are set down in front of Saturday morning cartoons.

Clara explains about Matty over a griddle full of her famous banana pancakes. There are more than a few tears in the batter. Each of the girls is helping. Well, everyone except Lauren who is eight months pregnant with her first child and is sitting at the counter with a glass of juice and orders not to touch anything.

“There’s something else” Marnie says, then yells at her two teenagers to stop being mean to their younger siblings and cousins. “C’mon Ma, what is it?”

Clara smiles “Danny's partner followed him home.”

“Wait, the Navy guy?” Amber asks, confused. “I thought he was his work partner.”

“Oh, honey, no” Lauren says. “Please tell me you’ve been listening when Danny talks about him? If they’re just work partners then I’m having Elvis’ alien baby.”

Amber scrunches up her nose “What did I miss?”

Marnie takes pity on her. Amber has a five year old and twins in their terrible twos so she has a reason for not paying as much attention as she could. “Am, we’re talking about Steve. Tall, Navy SEAL? Danny calls him a neanderthal animal.”

“Like it’s a term of endearment” Lauren adds.

“He’s very good looking” Clara tells her daughters. She’s always felt lighter surrounded by her family. "And Lauren is right, those two are about five minutes away from exchanging rings.”

There’s a clatter on the stairs and a gaggle of laughter from the kids in the living room and Danny stumbles into the kitchen. Steve is standing behind Danny with his hands on his shoulders. His eyes are sparkling with amusement and he’s guiding Danny’s footsteps.

“Tell them I know where they live and their mothers will never find them” Danny mutters.

“Aw, c’mon Danno” Steve wheedles as Danny sits, trying to conceal how amused he is. “They’re just kids.” He presses a kiss to the side of Danny’s head “I’m gonna go help your Dad.”

“No explosions” Danny says.

“You’re no fun.”

“Beat it you neanderthal” Danny says, waving off the taller man. Steve vanishes out the door and Marnie plunks a cup of coffee in front of her brother. The Williams’ sisters wait until Danny is working on his second cup before anyone says anything.

Lauren whistles long and low “Wow. They sure do grow ‘em nice in Hawaii.”

“I want one” Amber says with a giggle.

“Heathens” Danny says defensively. “You’re all married.”

“You mean you won’t let us borrow him for a long weekend?” Marnie asks with a laugh.

Danny glares “That man is mine. Don’t even think about it I know where you sleep and he carries live grenades in his pockets.”

“I’ve always liked a man with a little danger to him” Lauren says wistfully.

“You married an accountant, Laur” Danny says dryly.

“Mike is very good at what he does” Lauren says primly and everyone in the kitchen laughs.

It’s Marnie’s turn to whistle. She’s standing at the kitchen window watching the men in the yard. Danny snorts, downs the rest of the coffee and heads for the door.

“You’re all going to hell” he tells them before he leaves.

They have the decency to wait until the door clicks closed to start laughing.


	24. Hurricane (steve has nightmares)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve is prone to nightmares, but don't worry, Danny's got this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hurricane - MS MR
> 
> Super short, but it is a drabble collection so I'm not feeling that guilty.

**Hurricane**

(mcdanno, steve ptsd, [hurricane - ms mr](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sj684zcmzw))

 

_“...Nights like this_

_I become afraid_

_Of the darkness in my heart_

_Hurricane…”_

 

Danny stops asking to stay the night after the fifth rejection. It hurts, but for Danny, Steve is an easy read. There is something about the idea of Danny staying the night that terrifies the other man. Danny decides to wait. Patience is a virtue when it comes to small children, criminals and Steve McGarrett.

It happens sooner than Danny thought it would.

One night Steve falls asleep. They’re sitting on the couch watching the latest Die Hard movie and half-heartedly eating pizza when Steve just sort of slumps over onto Danny’s shoulder and Danny has to rescue his drooping slice of pizza before it lands on the carpet.

It’s been a long week full of bullets and car chases and Danny lets him sleep.

It’s not even twenty minutes later before the atmosphere of the room changes. Steve’s brow furrows and he shifts and it draws Danny’s attention. Steve shifts and mumbles something and Danny now knows with the clarity of a father with experience in these matters that Steve is having a nightmare.

He must be prone to them and that’s why he’s reluctant to have Danny stay over. He doesn’t want to disturb him in the middle of the night.

The big goof.

Danny reaches up and wraps Steve in his arms. He pets his hair and murmurs soothing things into his ear. He doesn’t know what Steve is dreaming about. He’s probably got a whole lifetime of things to wake up screaming over. It doesn’t matter. Grace went through a nightmare phase, this is old hat.

He wonders briefly how much sleep Steve actually gets at night and resolves to make sure he gets more.

Slowly Steve calms, Danny stays in place. He turns off the movie and he falls asleep right there with Steve’s breath in his ear and the sound of the waves crashing outside.

The crick in his neck the next morning is totally worth it because when he opens his eyes Steve is sitting there staring down at him with an amazed expression. Danny can’t help it, he pulls Steve back down to him and they hold onto each other.

“Ya know, I’m really good at chasing away nightmares” Danny tells him. “It’s not anything you need to be ashamed of.”

Steve nods and after they finally get going and they’re finished chasing a purse snatcher across what feels like half the island Steve invites him back to his place. He’s embracing what Danny is offering. Comfort and peace when his demons come to haunt him in his sleep.

After that they very rarely ever sleep alone.


	25. The Sound Of Sunshine (steve is not king arthur)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s not every day you find a murder weapon embedded in a big boulder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Sound of Sunshine - Michael Franti & Spearhead
> 
> Okay, so I just watched the old Disney cartoon of the Sword in the Stone and I couldn't resist. I have no excuse.

**The Sound of Sunshine**

(steve is not king arthur, [the sound of sunshine - michael franti & spearhead](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqgHosrqJ8o))

 

_“Some days you lose, you win_

_And the water’s as high as the times you’re in_

_So I jump back into where I learned to swim_

_Try to keep my head above it as best I can…”_

 

“You have _got_ to be kidding me.”

Danny’s voice is completely incredulous and Steve can see why. It’s not every day you find a murder weapon embedded in a big boulder. It’s a sword even. Steve smirks and opens his mouth but Danny waves a hand at him, pinching his fingers shut to indicate that he doesn’t want to hear it.

“No. Don’t even.”

Steve shrugs, still smiling and walks toward the boulder pulling on a pair of gloves to preserve any evidence that might be on the sword. He braces one leg on the rock and wraps his hands around the hilt and readies himself to give a mighty yank.

“Wait!” Danny exclaims.

Steve gives him a look “It doesn’t have magic powers, Danny.”

“Yeah, well, if it does I don’t want you to suddenly become the prophesied King of Hawaii” Danny retorts. “Chin, you do it.”

Chin shakes his head but trades places with Steve willingly. “How is this better?” Steve demands.

Danny gives him a look that tells Steve that Danny thinks he’s being very stupid right now. “Because Chin is far too zen to ever become a dictatorial overlord.”

“Put a lot of thought into that, have you?” Chin asks as he braces himself. He gives a mighty yank and the sword slides free with a metallic ringing noise. He holds it extended out from him dramatically for a second, surprised at how easy that was.

All at once everyone looks to the sky for a second expecting sunbeams to break through the cloud cover and bathe Chin in their magical light.

“Is anyone else a little disappointed now?” Kono asks. She walks over with a gigantic, heavy duty plastic back for Chin to put the sword in. “Should we take the rock too?”

“Probably” Chin says as he takes off his gloves.

“I don’t care which of you is our new magically prophesied king” Lou stated matter of factly. “I am no one’s Merlin, got it?”

Steve opens his mouth and then grunts when Danny elbows him “You are not Merlin.”

“Why not?” Steve demands. “I’d make a great Merlin!”

“If anything you’re like all of the knights of the round table in one, babe” Danny says. Steve looks satisfied at this and nods. “Besides, Kono is Merlin.”

“Why thank you, Danny” Kono says with a smile.

“Who’re you then?” Steve asks.

“Obviously the unsung hero. You know, the one with a brain” Danny says loftily, and gets in the car. Steve chuckles and rolls his eyes and waves at their new overlord as Chin roars past on his motorcycle.

“I’ll hang out here and wait for CSU” Lou offers, waving at the giant rock on the side of the road. “I’ll tell them to bring a forklift.”

“I’m gonna get this to Fong” Kono says, waving their excalibur around a little. She gets into her car and drives off leaving Steve to get in the camaro and look over at Danny with raised eyebrows.

“Don’t even. Do not.” Danny says evenly with a scowl.

Steve grins “Yeah, okay Archimedes.”

Danny splutters. Steve laughs.


	26. Run (danny heals, steve waits)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny was burned by Rachel, but he's healing and Steve? Well Steve is patient, he'll wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Run - Nicole Scherzinger
> 
> Sorry for the delay in updates. Life slapped me around a bit last week.
> 
> Just a heads up, Steter Week starts on the 1st, and since I'm participating I really need to get the piece I'm writing for it finished. Therefore, until it's done updates for IBDC may take a back seat to it. Steter Week is over on the 7th and regularly scheduled programming will resume after.

**Run**

(danny has been burned, steve waits, [run - nicole scherzinger](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHRMS7awZsM))

 

_"Darling I know that you're just like me_

_You give your love up way too fast_

_But when it's gone, it's gone forever_

_And there's no coming back from that..."_

After Rachel, Danny is, admittedly, a little gun shy when it comes to relationships. Reasonably so. Rachel was supposed to have been his forever. It somehow hadn’t turned out that way.

He couldn’t even pinpoint when things had changed. She had always been reserved with him when it came to his job. He had thought they had struck a kind of balance. She tried not to worry too much and he did his best to not take any unnecessary risks. He’d been wrong though, because he woke up one morning and the woman he loved was leaving him for another man.

He let her go because he loved her enough to just want her to be happy, whether or not it was with him. He makes sure that Grace knows how much he loves her, that none of this is her fault. He spends as much time as he can with his daughter while the divorce is finalized. He doesn’t fight the move when it happens because Rachel could have sued for full custody and hadn’t.

And now, well, now Dann has Steve. Steve is nothing like Rachel. Most of the time he barely has manners. Danny is terrified of Steve. Not because he never waits for backup, or the fact that he stores live grenades in places they have no business being.

He is terrified of Steve because when Steve looks at him it’s with stars in his eyes.

It’s an expression Danny hasn’t seen in a long time. Not in years. Rachel stopped wearing it so long ago that he can barely recall seeing it on her face. It’s the kind of expression that until you see it directed at yourself you don’t really know what you’re missing.

Danny sees it in Steve’s eyes every time the other man looks at him.

Steve doesn’t push though. He knows that while there is something between them that Danny is wary. He’s in recovery and isn’t ready to risk it all again. So Steve is patient. He takes what Danny can give him and doesn’t push.

Danny is grateful for that. He gives what he can because he knows that one day he’ll be able to give all he’s got. One day he won’t hesitate and Rachel will be gone from his mind and heart and he’ll be free to take in the love Steve is offering him and return it.

So Danny heals, and Steve waits.


	27. Cecilia and the Satellite (knowing where you belong)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve knows where he belongs. It's with Danny.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cecilia and the Satellite - Andrew McMahon
> 
> Super short. Trying to get back into the swing of things after the break for Steter Week. Hopefully I'll get some longer stuff out soon.
> 
> Also, If you haven't read The One And Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate, do so. It's a great story and has won the Newberry Medal for distinguished contribution to children's literature. It's about a gorilla named Ivan and a baby elephant named Ruby.

**Cecilia and the Satellite**

(mcdanno, [cecilia and the satellite - andrew mcmahon](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_zY_jSVXSU))

 

_“...The things I’ve learned from a broken mirror_

_How a face can change when a heart knows fear_

_Through all the things my eyes have seen_

_The best by far is you…”_

 

Steve has traveled all over the globe. More than once. He’s seen things most people can’t imagine outside the movies. He’s done a lot of things he’s proud of, and an equal number of things he’s not.

He balances his life through diet and exercise and the knowledge that the people he tracks down and (if he has to) kills are people that have done awful things to deserve a life behind bars. He does not regret his life, the places he’s been or what he’s done. However, he has never, not once, felt the sort of inner peace that comes with knowing that you are right where you need to be. At least, not until now.

Steve kicks a leg out of the hammock to push against the ground and set it rocking. Danny grumbles something incoherent and snuffles into Steve’s neck. Steve can’t help grinning as he runs a hand through Danny’s hair.

He has never felt like he belonged more than he does right here in this moment.

He hears the gravel in the driveway crunch under tires, but doesn’t bother extricating himself from Danny. Anyone he would want to talk to knows their way around the house and how to find him. Anyone who doesn’t know their way around? He doesn’t want to talk to them anyway.

So he waits.

He doesn’t have to wait long. He hears the door to the lanai open and close. Hears someone stop to pull off shoes and he can’t help the grin that crosses his face. Grace’s face pops up over the edge of the hammock on a downswing and she’s grinning too.

“Is there room for me too?” she asks.

Steve stops the hammock and helps her climb in. She wiggles around carefully to wedge herself between Steve and Danny, trying not to wake her father. She hands him the book she’s carrying and Steve contemplates the cover, _The One and Only Ivan_.

“It’s for school, but I thought we could read it together,” Grace says as Danny’s eyes crack open to see who just elbowed him. He wraps an arm around her and closes his eyes.

“Sounds like a plan, Gracie,” Steve tells her, and sets the hammock to rocking again.

He cracks open the book and begins to read, “Hello. I am Ivan. I am a gorilla. It’s not as easy as it looks.*”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * This is the first page from The One and Only Ivan. Definitely recommended reading.


	28. Be Here Now (danny waits)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve is injured on the job, and Danny waits for news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be Here Now - Ray Lamontagne
> 
> Okay, so please note the WARNING I've added for depictions of blood and violence. I don't want anyone to get triggered by anything. I don't think it's that descriptive, but I'm not taking any chances. I want everyone to be safe.
> 
> I apologize in advance for the sad. *offers tissues*

**Be Here Now**

(mcdanno, [be here now - ray lamontagne](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nz-QbCTuF_s))

 

_“Don’t lose your faith in me_

_And I will try not to lose faith in you_

_Don’t put your trust in walls_

_‘Cause walls will only crush you when they fall…”_

It runs through Danny’s head on a loop. It runs with dizzying speed and sickening slow motion. He analyzes all the angles. What he did. What he didn’t do. What could have happened. If only he had done this instead of that.

If only. If only. If only.

He’s a mess. The nurses and the other people in the waiting room are giving him a wide berth. He sets his forearms on his knees and cradles his head in his hands. He doesn’t care that he’s getting blood in his hair. He’s got enough blood on him, spreading it around won’t harm anything at this point.

Harm. Ha.

Danny flinches a little when someone settles beside him. A small, fine boned hand settles in the middle of his back, rubbing small circles. He knows without looking that it’s Kono. Some of the tension leaves him, but not nearly all of it. Never all of it.

Chin settles down in the seat on his other side and speaks softly. His words are careful, “Lou’s checking with the desk for an update.”

The silence comes back after that. Just the drone of the television mounted in the corner. It’s on the local news, but too low to understand. The ticking of the ceiling fan as it rotates. Danny’s brain winds up again and Steve flashes in front of his eyes. That startled expression as the bullets caught him by surprise. They came from a second suspect they hadn’t expected. The first bullet had gotten lucky and gotten Steve in the underarm right where his vest ended. The other got him in the shoulder.

Danny knuckles at his eyes to scrub away the image of Steve collapsing into Danny’s arms like an accordion. Already losing conscious as his lifeblood doused Danny’s front.

He can see the flicker of blue and red lights in the corners of his eyes and he knows it’s just residue. The paramedics had let him ride to the hospital with them. Screaming sirens and yelling about pressure and nicked or punctured arteries. The shriek of charging paddles with the beep, beep, beep and then the jolt hiss as Steve was shocked back into rhythm.

Shoes appear in Danny’s line of sight, blocking some of the glare off the linoleum from the fluorescent lighting. It’s Lou, who speaks just as softly and clearly as Chin had. “They got the bullet out. The shoulder was a through and through. They’re repairing the damage now.”

“Are we out of the woods?” Kono asks.

“Should be. The hard part was getting the bullet out,” Lou explains.

Danny can hear what Lou isn’t saying. Steve coded on the table, just like in the ambulance. His eyes burn and he wants to cry, but he chokes it back. Kono’s hand returns and he relaxes into her familiar touch. Family. This is his family.

“We should get back out there. Find the second gunman,” Chin says.

“Go,” Kono tells him. “I’ll stay here with Danny. Don’t be kind when you drag that asshole in to HPD.”

“We’ll do our best to be hospitable,” Lou’s voice is laced with something dangerous.

“We’ll swing by the house and pick up a change of clothes for Danny later,” Chin decides.

Chin and Lou retreat after that. They leave Danny’s awareness as soon as their footsteps fade. They may as well not exist. He knows there are cops covering this floor of the hospital. Protecting one of their own. Knows Duke is probably leading an island wide manhunt. Doesn’t care.

Can’t care.

Sometime between Chin and Lou leaving and when the doctor comes in Jerry arrives. He sits heavily next to Danny. He has the grace to not say anything, and he fends off Kamekona’s well meaning press of food. Max arrives and the conversation he begins with Jerry and Kamekona becomes like white noise.

When the doctor does come in, Kono nudges Danny to his feet and he stares at this exhausted looking woman who has some of Steve’s blood on her scrubs, but she’s smiling so he let’s it go.

“The bullet was a nightmare to get out. It nicked an artery and we’ve repaired that and done some other minor repairs. It’s going to take time and some physical therapy, but the Commander should make a full recovery,” she tells Danny.

Danny doesn’t even try to stop himself from hugging her.

*

The room is dim. There’s a light on on the table in the corner, but otherwise the only light in the room is coming from the monitors. The only noise is the electric buzz of the machines, the faint hiss of the oxygen feeding through the nasal cannula and the steady beeping of the heart monitor.

Danny doesn’t expect to find that beeping so comforting, but he does.

He drags a chair over from the table and settles in to sit vigil at Steve’s side. He makes sure to be out of the way of the monitors and IV. He reaches out and takes up Steve’s hand. His grip tightens at how cold it is and he stares at it for a minute before his gaze travels over the bandages up to Steve’s face. Steve’s eyes are open just a sliver and he’s watching Danny. Danny squeezes the hand again and then kisses in. He settles back in his chair for the long haul.

Steve’s eyes slip closed.

Something inside Danny’s chest unclenches.


	29. Stompa (carguments and high speed chases)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny and Steve have a cargument, in the middle of a high speed car chase.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stompa - Serena Ryder
> 
> Ok, so I did look up highway names on Oahu, but I don't know if they have concrete dividers or not. I'm going with what I know and if I got that wrong then I apologize. Sort of. I want to be accurate but it was good for the mini-plot of this drabble soooo....
> 
> I have no excuse. I couldn't do a drabble series without at least one cargument, right?

**Stompa**

(mcdanno, [stompa - serena ryder](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gO1q8Zwuc24))

 

_"People, looking for the great escape_

_Looking for the greener side_

_Trying to find a better way_

_Slow down; open up your big brown eyes_

_Feel the rhythm your heart_

_You don't even need to try..."_

 

It starts with Steve pulling a maneuver right out of the movies. There’s a high speed car chase coming down Pali Highway from Kailua and the car blasts past the camaro which is going in the opposite direction.

“No.” Danny says firmly. “Steven! No!”

Steve, naturally, doesn’t listen. He pops the clutch, pulls the e-brake and yanks the steering wheel to the left. Danny is well within his rights for screaming when the car fishtails around wildly to follow after the police cars whipping past. Steve hits the accelerator and starts driving after the green challenger.

“Okay, how is this helping?” Danny demands. He gestures wildly out the windscreen with the hand that isn’t clutching the oh-shit handle. “Not only are we now driving into _oncoming traffic_ ,” Danny emphasizes his point with another hand wave. “But we’re on the wrong side of the median, so even if we _do_ catch up, what the hell are you going to do? Drive through concrete?”

“Don’t be a pessimist, Danno,” Steve says. His tone is perfectly even, like he’s not worried at all that they’re driving down the highway _on the wrong side of the road_. “There’s a turn around a couple miles up.”

Danny glares and Steve beams him that manically happy grin he wears when he’s planning to do something stupid. Stupider than driving into oncoming traffic. “Eyes on the road, you Neanderthal Animal!”

If anything, Steve’s grin widens. Danny hates him. He gets on the radio and tells dispatch that they’re joining the chase and not to worry if they get calls about a crazy dude driving on the wrong side of Pali Highway; because, oh yeah, _that’s them_. Danny can _hear_ the money changing hands over the crackle of the radio.

“I’m gonna kill you,” Danny tells Steve, deadly serious.

Steve guns the accelerator and fishtails them between the concrete divider onto the correct side of the road. He cuts off two squad cars as he puts the camaro on the suspect vehicle’s tail. “No you aren’t,” Steve tells him.

“Do not tell me what I’m going to do or not do, Steven,” Danny tells him. He makes a note to remember to apologize to the uniforms Steve just almost killed. He buys blank note cards in bulk these days. “Do not.”

Steve blares the siren and pulls up around the side of the challenger and Danny heaves a put upon sigh and checks his sidearm. Kono’s red cruze appears to flank the challenger on the other side just as Steve swerves to avoid being shot as the suspect shoots the glass out of the driver’s side window.

“Oh my god,” Danny says. He flicks the safety off and leans over Steve to shoot out the shattered window. He fires several rounds before he says: “This is all you’re fault and you’re paying for a new window.”

“If you say so.”

“I do say so. You want to know why? Because my partner is a _lunatic_ , that’s why.”

“I’m doing my _job_ , Danny.”

“This? This is not your job! This is HPD’s job. Our job was a crime scene in Kailua.”

Steve shrugs, “It’s on our way.”

“It’s on our - “ Danny huffs. “We’re going in the exact _opposite direction_ , Steven.”

“We’ll get there. This is just a… detour.”

“A detour to what,” Danny demands as Steve edges the camaro around to cut off the challenger. “Mushrooms?!”

Steve snorts and slams on the brakes. the Camaro jolts and the tires squeal and now the challenger is sitting in the middle of the road blocking traffic surrounded by cop cars. Steve and Danny swing out of the camaro to face the suspect.

“Do not!” Danny yells, aiming his sidearm right at the man’s face. “You fire that weapon and I’m gonna let him feed you a live grenade, don’t think I won’t!”

The guy gives up fairly easily after that. He turns out to be a down on his luck crook who tried to rob the wrong convenience store. Once he’s in cuffs and sitting in the back of a squad car and Danny has spoken with the drivers of the cars Steve has cut off, Danny looks at Steve and says: “Now that you’ve had your fun can we go? We left Max and a dead body waiting on up.”

Steve grins, pleased with himself and gets in the camaro after brushing window glass off the leather, “Yeah, we can go.”

Danny sighs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bonus points to you if you noticed the Lord of the Rings reference. :)


	30. Bonfire Heart (haunted!au part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A companion/followup to the Haunted!AU of chapter 18, I Belong To You.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bonfire Heart - James Blunt
> 
> Heads up for Character Death... but of the old age variety.

**Bonfire Heart**

(mcdanno, haunted!au part 2, [bonfire heart - james blunt](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyT5jMIaf90))

 

_“Days like these lead to..._

_Nights like this lead to_

_Love like ours._

_You light the spark in my bonfire heart._

_People like us - we don’t_

_Need that much, just some -_

_One that starts,_

_Starts the spark in our bonfire hearts…”_

 

It’s raining when Grace arrives. The house seems looming and almost sinister for the first time in her life. It’s been a long time since she’s been back to visit. Longer than it should have been. Grace is grown now though. She has a career and a family and some things like visiting just fall to the wayside by accident.

The kids race for the front door, excited to see their grandfather. Adam stays with Grace though. He knows why they made the emergency trip from Harvard. She has to stop on the front step and take a deep, bracing breath before she enters the big manor house.

The Mr. Haversham that greets them and takes their coats is not the Mr. Haversham that originally came with the house all those years ago. This Mr. Haversham is the younger son of the original and his wife is the new housekeeper. They’re directed to the music room, where the retired detective in residence spends the vast majority of his days now.

Grace knows why and can’t help but feel a bit relieved that her father isn’t alone like most people think. He has his ghost.

Unlike Rachel, Danny had never remarried. Rachel had gone on to marry a Lord and had two more children. Danny had not. He had his career with Scotland Yard. The big house and the ghost that came with it.

Oh, life with Steve hadn’t been easy over the years. Steve was unable to speak to Danny and had been forced to learn other ways to communicate. Ways that spoke of stereotypical haunting behavior. When Grace was little she’d thought it was funny. When she was old enough to finally understand and truly see the love between her father and the resident ghost, she saw how painful it could be.

Steve, no matter how alive he acted, was dead. Danny was a living breathing person and had needs beyond companionship. Communication was difficult and they had fought a lot. When Steve was mad he created cold spots and slammed doors and windows with invisible wind and generally made himself a nuisance. When Danny was mad he threatened to move out of the house and sell it.

Life with Danny and Steve was never dull though. Especially not for a little girl who had a big old house to explore and a ghost to play with.

“How is he, really?” Grace asks as she and Adam are led toward the music room. Grace knows her way around, but she lets the butler hover.

“I think we’re nearing the end, Mistress,” Mr. Haversham says delicately.

Grace wants to cry, but she had known this was coming. Her father was eighty-seven years old and having trouble with his heart. It was really only a matter of time before he went on his way. Mr. Haversham leaves them at the door to the music room and Grace stops to collect herself. Neither her father or her children need to see her fall apart.

Adam sets his hand on her shoulder, “It’s going to be okay, hon.”

“I know. I just. Are you sure about the move?”

They had discussed it several times over the years. Grace knew she would inherit when Danny passed, and she would never sell the house so long as Steve remained in it. Grace had gone through a phase of researching hauntings in her teens and learned that ghosts rarely ever left the places they haunted without help.

She was unwilling to cause Steve that kind of pain. When her father passed Steve would remain behind, and she couldn’t bear for him to be alone again.

“Yes,” Adam tells her. His tone is borderline exasperated. “You’ve got that job with the Museum lined up and I got that offer from Oxford. We’ll be fine. Besides, the kids will like being closer to their cousins.”

that was at least true. Grace had met Adam at Oxford during her first year. His family was here in England as well, so really it was them coming home versus leaving it. that would help the transition and besides, her mother would be ecstatic that she was coming home.

Grace straightens herself and pushes open the door, stepping inside. A quick glance around the room shows Steve at his customary place at the piano and Danny in a big, comfortable looking armchair with a blanket over his lap. Abigail is sitting on Danny’s lap, Michael is on the arm of the chair and Danny is smiling.

Grace makes her way over to the chair and kneels in front of her father, taking his hands. “Hey, Danno,” she says.

*

Danny passes three days later. Peacefully in his sleep. Grace is with him, so is Steve. It isn’t remarkable, people pass away in this fashion every day. What is remarkable to it is that several hours later, after to the coroner has come and gone and Grace has begun to make the necessary phone calls, there is the sound of the piano playing in the music room.

Grace hadn’t been expecting to hear anything out of Steve for some time after Danny left them. The fact that she can hear the piano is strange enough for her to stop what she’s doing and investigate.

The children beat her to the door, but not by much. When she follows them into room she can only do two things. Stare in complete astonishment and laugh at what she’s seeing.

The music has stopped and Steve is standing facing another ghost. This one is short and blonde and the spitting image of her father when they had first moved to England. He had apparently chosen to stay behind with Steve. Finally able to communicate properly with his ghostly lover and Danny is ranting, his arms waving around. Steve is grinning.

Grace’s laughter becomes loud and unhindered because they’re finally really, truly together and they’re arguing.

Of course they are.


	31. Heartbreak Warfare (loving with all you are)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny and Steve rarely fight, but this time is serious. Danny learns to let go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heartbreak Warfare - John Mayer
> 
> I don't even know anymore. Hope ya'll like it.

**Heartbreak Warfare**

(mcdanno, [heartbreak warfare - john mayer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGEdukHtTsc))

_“I don’t care if we don’t sleep at all tonight_

_Let’s just fix this whole thing now_

_I swear to god we’re gonna get it right_

_If you lay your weapon down…”_

 

Danny heaves a sigh and rolls over. The sheet bunches up around his legs and he kicks wildly to free himself for a minute, taking his frustration out on the bedding. Staring up at the ceiling, he counts the stripes of moonlight coming in the blinds. He’s so tired his eyes feel dried out and gritty. His brain won’t shut off and rolling over again reveals why.

Steve’s side off the bed is empty.

Danny heaves himself into a sitting position, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and resting his head in his hands. He and Steve don’t really fight. They argue and they bicker and disagree, but they don’t _fight_. Not like he and Rachel used to fight.

And that’s the root of the problem isn’t it? Steve is sick of having their relationship compared to the one Danny had with Rachel. He’s sick of Danny waiting for it all to fall apart. Danny knows that Steve has a point. Hell, he’s even probably even right, even though Danny doesn’t want to admit it.

A glance at the clock reveals that it’s after three and Danny can’t take it anymore. The silence is too much, especially since he knows that Steve is in the house. He stands up and heads for the door, going to find his partner. Something’s gotta give and Danny knows it’s him.

*

Steve digs his toes into the sand and takes in a deep breath of ocean air. He tips his head back against the chair and stares up at the star studded sky. He’s tired, but it’s not the physical kind. The Navy trained him to ignore his body and push past his limits. No, the tired he’s feeling goes far beyond the physical.

He loves Danny. He loves Danny more than he’s ever loved anyone. Danny makes the world a brighter place just by existing for Steve, so the thought that Danny doesn’t love him the same way hurts. Steve knows Danny’s been burned. He’s had a front row seat to some epic Danny and Rachel fights. He gets it, he does, but… it’s been over a year.

A year of together. Of dates and dinners, late night walks and conversation. They’ve been living together for eight months and Steve doesn’t feel like Danny trusts him not to break his heart. He’s tired of fighting Rachel’s ghost.

They’d fought tonight. Well and truly and things had been said. Steve doesn’t regret letting Danny know once and for all how he feels, but he regrets that by the time the sun rises this thing they’ve been building might be over. Steve hasn’t been able to go back into the house since he left during dinner. He went for a swim and then plonked himself down in this chair and hasn’t moved since.

He doesn’t know what to do other than leave it to Danny, but the waiting might kill him.

“You been out here all night?”

Steve jumps a little. Danny’s standing next to him looking up at the sky with a frown pressed between his eyebrows. Steve stares at him for a long time silently until Danny looks down at him. He doesn’t know what expression he’s wearing on his face but it makes Danny sigh, grab the other chair and drag it around to face Steve’s.

Danny sits, takes his hands in his own and kisses them, “I’m sorry, Babe.”

Steve blinks at Danny, surprised. “I don’t know what to do to make you trust me, Danno,” he tells him.

“I do trust you,” Danny says.

“With your life, yeah, but not your heart.” Steve looks away from those blue eyes out to the ocean, “You don’t trust me not to hurt you so you never let me in, not all the way.”

“Oh, Babe,” Danny sighs. He scooches his chair closer and turns Steve’s head back to face him.. He presses several kisses to Steve’s lips in apology. He knows that he’s been hurting Steve, but the visceral pain in his Navy Seal’s eyes is stunning. His reactions are instinctive. He’s spent so long on the defensive, attacking Rachel back that he doesn’t know when he does it anymore.

Danny makes sure he’s locked gazes with Steve because he needs him to see the truth of what he’s saying, “I love you, Steven. With every fibre and sinew. I know you aren’t going to hurt me, I know it. And I’m sorry that I can’t seem to move past the damage from Rachel.”

“I just want to make you happy,” Steve says softly. “But I always feel like I can’t do it because you’re waiting for something bad to happen.”

Danny closes his eyes and edges forward in his seat until he can tip their heads together. They breathe each other’s air for a few minutes while Danny tries to find the words to explain what he feels.

“I love you, Steven McGarrett. With every fibre of my being I trust you. I need you to steamroll me when I get my back up because I don’t always know I’m doing it.” Danny sighs again, “I got so used to being on the defense that it’s like my default setting.”

“You don’t have to be.”

“I know,” Danny says. “I’m in this, and I need you to tell me when I’m being an ass, or I hurt you. I can’t learn to stop if I don’t know I’m doing it.”

Steve smiles faintly, looks Danny in the eye and says, “Danno, you’re being an ass. Let me love you.”

Danny laughs. Steve smiles smugly and Danny knows that they’re going to be okay. They trade a few more kisses, laughing a little as they go. “C’mon, Babe,” Danny finally intones. “Let’s go to bed and sleep.”

Steve nods amiably because the weight has been taken off his shoulders. When he stands up Danny laces their fingers together and leads him toward the house. They still have to work on their issues, but it’s a start.

A start is all they need.


	32. 99 Problems (how long have you been married)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _"How long have you guys been married?"_
> 
>  
> 
> Or, four times the famous question gets asked and similar answers are given.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 99 Problems - Hugo
> 
> This is what happens when I rewatch season 1 and that first episode where they get asked the famous question is seen.

**99 Problems**

(mcdanno, how long have you been married, [99 problems - hugo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LloIp0HMJjc))

 

_“Tip my hat to the sun in the west_

_Feel the beat right in my chest_

_At the crossroads a second time_

_Make the devil change his mind…”_

 

“How long have you guys been married?”

Danny rolls his eyes and Steve grins and cheerfully lifts the guy he’s just finished cuffing up off the trunk of the car by the back of his shirt, and slams him back down. The guy grunts in pain and Danny knows he should say something about Steve not mistreating their suspects, but he doesn’t want to.

Danny leans over so he can meet the suspect’s eyes where he’s smashed into the hood of the old for taurus he’d tried to escape in. Once he’s got eye contact Danny smiles sharply with all his teeth and says: “Four years this week.”

“Happy anniversary?” the suspect asks. Well, squeaks. Steve is leaning most of this weight on him and he’s a little out of breath.

“Thank you!” Steve exclaims. He steps away, dragging the other man with him and leading him toward Duke Lukela who’s watching the whole thing with amusement. “We appreciate that.”

“Uh huh,” the suspect says. He looks at Duke and asks him: “Can I go to jail now?”

Duke takes custody of the suspect from Steve. He’s trying to keep a straight face and is actually doing a decent job at it. Practice really does make perfect. “Sure you can. Let’s go.”

Steve wanders back over to stand next to Danny. He bumps their shoulders together companionably and leans against the camaro. “So, four years this week, huh?”

“Feels like four years.”

Steve nods because he knows what Danny means. The day they met just snowballed into what they have now. They jumped into the middle of their story instead of starting at the beginning. Just like everything else, that seems to have worked out in their favor.

“We doing anything special?” Steve wonders.

“Steak at that place we like,” Danny decides. They’ve known each other for four years and been married for two of them. “We deserve a nice dinner. Bring your wallet, you’re paying.”

“I can do that,” Steve replies.

*

“How long have you guys been married?”

Danny sighs and gives their witness an ‘Are you kidding me?’ look. Her eyes are wide and wondering and he knows instantly that she isn’t trying to be mean about.

“We’re on our sixty-third lifetime,” Steve says. He’s apparently feeling grumpy about the case and is therefore taking it out on anyone in range. “Reincarnation is a bitch.”

Danny snorts and he and the witness watch Steve walk off in the direction of Lou, who looks ready to spit glass. Danny looks at the tired, bruised woman and offers her a smile, “Actually, we just had our second anniversary.”

Her eyebrows do a wiggly thing that suggests that the answer surprised her, “Congrats.”

“Thanks,” Danny says. “Now, why don’t we go over what happened?”

“Okay.”

*

“How long have they been married?”

Duke starts laughing and sits down at his desk. Several of the other cops in the vicinity exchange looks and some money changes hands. The new detective, a transfer from the mainland, looks perplexed.

“What?”

Pua takes pity on the haole, “Everybody asks that.” He still looks confused so Pua elaborates, “Everybody. Just last week they had a suspect ask it.”

“Okay, so what does that mean?”

“Mostly,” Duke says. “That it’s fun to joke about.”

“Does it bother them?” the detective looks a little nervous, eyeing the doorway where Steve and Danny had vanished like he expected them to reappear and shoot him for talking about them.

Pua claps him on the back with one hand and says with a very serious face and twinkling eyes, “Oh, it bothers them. McGarrett shot the last person to ask them to their faces.”

The detective pales and Duke sighs, “Get back to work Pua.” Pua wanders off with a smile, whistling. Duke looks at the new detective and says: “They just had their second anniversary. It’s one of those things no one really talks about because everyone already knows.”

“So I shouldn’t say anything?” the detective confirms.

“Not unless you want to be pranked by Five-0,” Duke replies.

If anything, this answer makes the new guy pale even further. Good, Duke decides. He’s already heard plenty of stories about Five-0 to be nervous. He’s looking forward to the day when he forgets himself.

It will be highly amusing.

*

“Are we really that predictable?” Danny wonders aloud as their latest suspect is led away.

“Not really,” Chin says. “You guys just don’t hide how you feel about each other very well.”

Steve walks over. He looks a little put out as he gestures at the guy over his shoulder, “He asked me how long we’ve been married. Again.”

“Me too,” Danny commiserates.

“Aw, don’t worry guys!” Kono tells them with a happy grin. “It takes most couples thirty years to get to where you guys are, but you guys are still having awesome sex!”

“Not helping, Kono,” Danny replies.

Kono shrugs happily, “I love you too Danny.”

“Hey now,” Steve says. He wedges himself between Kono and Danny with playful elbows, “This one’s mine, find your own.”

Danny heaves a put upon sigh as Kono gives an over-exaggerated ‘aw, shucks!’ and rolls his eyes. “I hate you both.”

Steve wraps his arm around him and kisses the side of his head, “No you don’t.”

“See!” the suspect yells from where he’s being shoved into the back of a police cruiser. “I told you they were married!”

“We know,” several of the uniforms surrounding the crime scene chorus.

Danny can’t help it. He laughs.


	33. To Be Alone (danny vs the world, but not steve, part 3)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 3rd part to my Danny vs the World, but not Steve set. Sequel to chapter 15, Clown.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To Be Alone - Hozier

**To Be Alone**

(danny vs the world, but not steve, part 3, [to be alone - hozier](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcDxk9CSTo8))

 

_“There are questions I can’t ask_

_Now at last the worst is over…”_

 

Rachel tries to get the injunction dismissed. Of course she does. It’s Rachel. She also files a countersuit against the joint custody. She has never liked having to consult Danny about anything, she isn’t about to start now. She likes to tell him how it’s going to be.

The injunction preventing her from taking Grace out of Hawaii for longer than a week is ironclad and the judge does everything but laugh them out of her chambers. Stan lets Rachel do what she wants, but he signs off when she files for full custody again.

He still remembers the look in Steve’s eyes.

When the lawyer serves Danny with the papers in the middle of the Iolani Palace with the expectation of humiliating him, Danny laughs. They had prepared for this eventuality and he wasn’t surprised. He tells Steve all about it while he calls his own lawyer, ready to pull the trigger on what he’s got up his own sleeve.

Rachel blazes her way into the Five-0 offices raging fit to please a dragon. If she could breathe fire she would have been spewing lava she was so mad. She throws her copy of the paperwork for Steve to adopt Grace at Danny and the sheets flutter about his office ineffectually.

“This is never going to happen, Daniel!” she shrieks.

“You’re just pissed off because you never thought to have Stan do the same,” Danny says sitting back in his chair. “Talk to Grace about it. We have.”

Rachel stares at him for a long time. “You did what?” her voice is a quiet hiss.

“We talked with Grace about the adoption,” Danny tells her. He can practically smell the victory in the air. If there’s one thing in the entire world that can prevent Rachel from doing something to damage Danny, it’s Grace. “We wanted to make sure she’d be okay with it before we filed the paperwork.”

“You can’t do this.”

“I can't?” Danny gives Rachel a very long, serious look. “You just filed paperwork to cut me off from Grace permanently. Did you read the fine print? You win the custody case and I don’t even get visitation.”

“You don’t deserve visitation, Daniel,” Rachel says. “You’re a danger to my daughter.”

“I’m a danger?” Danny asks, voice cold. “Who was it that was responsible for the carjacking, Rachel?”

“That has nothing to do with this!” Rachel screeches.

Steve chooses that moment to lean around the doorframe with raised eyebrows, “Everything okay?”

“We’re fine,” Danny answers, not looking away from his ex.

“I’m on my way to pick up Grace, back in thirty,” Steve says, then vanishes.

There’s a drawn out moment of silence, and when it’s broken Danny does it with succinct clarity, “You need to stop attacking me for petty revenge and ask yourself, and Grace, what’s really best for her. What does she want, Rachel? Or have you never bothered to ask?”

Rachel straightens her shoulders and purses her lips, “He’s not adopting her.”

Danny’s eyes narrow, “You’re only saying that because you know Stan doesn’t want to adopt her.”

Rachel whitens and Danny knows he hit the nail on the head with that remark. She stares at Danny for a minute, trying to order her thoughts. She opens her mouth to speak, then closes it again.

“When did it all go wrong?” she finally asks.

Danny offers up a very tired smile, “The day you decided you couldn’t handle being a police officer’s wife and slept with Stan the first time.”

Rachel nods, turns and leaves the office.

Three days later the custody suit is dropped. She doesn’t fight the adoption either when she finds out that she’s pregnant. She needs to try to be happy without Danny being miserable, she decides. If only to make her own life a little easier.

She’s surprised how well it works.


	34. Be My Forever (supermarket!au)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny has a bad day and there's a man holding the last box of Lucky Charms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be My Forever - Christina Perri feat. Ed Sheeran
> 
> Inspired by one of those AU Prompt posts on Tumblr. This one was:  
> "This has been a very bad week and you just grabbed the last box of my favorite comfort food at the supermarket AU"  
> Set pre-series.

**Be My Forever**

(mcdanno, supermarket!au, be my forever - [christina perri feat ed sheeran](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awMQlSqI564))

 

_“You’re my bright blue sky_

_You’re the sun in my eyes_

_Oh baby, you’re my life_

_You’re the reason why…”_

 

Danny has had a shitty day. Not bad. Not crappy. _Shitty_. A suspect on one of his cases is going to walk on a technicality. His new partner put the _asshole_ in _douche_. He received the divorce papers from Rachel. At work. Grace called him crying because she wants him to come home, but he _can’t_.

Basically he’s had the worst day and all he has to look forward to is his tiny studio apartment and possibly a phone call from his mother that will start out sympathetic but turn out to just make him feel worse.

He _needs_ that box of Lucky Charms.

The man contemplating the red box that holds Danny’s sugar induced salvation is tall. Like, really tall. With dark, close cropped hair and military posture. Danny doesn’t want to start something with a military douchebag, but he will because that’s _his_ box of Lucky Charms, dammit.

It’s the last box in the whole supermarket, so Danny’s going in.

He walks over and clears his throat in that annoying, pointed way. The man turns and Danny feels like all the air has been punched out of his lungs at the sight of those pretty hazel eyes. The man has big tired raccoon eye bags and what looks like road rash all over the side of his face.

“Hi. Look, you look like your day was pretty shitty, but mine was shitty on an epic scale and I shit you not when I tell you I _need_ those Lucky Charms,” Danny says.

The man’s eyebrows are up near his hairline by the time Danny finishes speaking. He looks from the box in his hand to Danny and sighs. He holds the box out, “All yours.”

Danny looks at the man for a moment before he takes it. The other man holds onto the box for a second, reluctant to part with what is also _his_ go to comfort food. Danny puts the box in the little basket over his arm and the other man turns to leave.

He doesn’t know what possesses him to say it, but he blurts it out anyway, “We could share it?”

The man turns to look at him and they study each other for a bit before a breathtaking smile crosses the taller man’s face. “I’ll buy the milk,” he tells Danny.

Danny walks over to him and they make their way toward the dairy case side by side. “I’m Danny.”

“Steve.”

*

When Danny finally rolls out of bed the next morning he’s disheveled and has several love bites to show for his evening. He stumbled across his tiny apartment to the little kitchenette and sits down next to the tall, naked man eating his cereal.

Steve grins at him around his spoon and nudges a bowl his way. “I saved you some,” he says, pointing at the box of Lucky Charms with his spoon.

As he pours milk over cereal and marshmallow dust he decides that he might just be a little in love.

If the expression on Steve’s face is anything to go by, the feeling is mutual.


	35. Element (domestic mcdanno)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hug it out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Element - Moses Mayfield

**Element**

(domestic mcdanno, [element - moses mayfield](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIZZgpb2sDI))

 

_"What if I don't want to be the lonely one?_

_The truth I know is this_

_I don't want to miss you more_

_Than I already do..."_

 

Steve is sitting in the front doorway when Danny pulls up to the McGarrett house in the camaro. He’s got his socks draped over one shoulder and one of his boots in his hand. Danny gets out of the car slower than Grace, but not by much.

“Grab me a stick, would you Gracie?” Steve asks when she bounds over to him.

“Okay!” Grace crashes into the bushes at the side of the house and Danny sighs. He gets her suitcase out of the trunk and walks over to Steve, who squints up at him through the fading sunlight.

“What happened?” Danny asks because now that he’s this close he can see the mud staining his pants up to the knees.

Constipated Face #13 crosses Steve’s face and he mutters, “I fell down a hole.”

“You fell down a hole?” Danny asks, because clarification is key.

Steve looks up at him mutinously because he’s not going to say it again. Grace chooses that moment to reappear and hand Steve a nice, long stick. Steve thanks her graciously and starts to dig the mud out of the treads on his boots.

Danny rolls his eyes and addresses what is apparently the older of his kids, “Gracie, why don’t you take you bag up to your room. Do you have any homework?”

“A little,” Grace says, retrieving her backpack from where she dropped it next to Steve. “I have some math and spelling to do.”

“Bring that down with you and we’ll get it out of the way before dinner.”

“Okay,” Grace says. Steve leans far to his right to let Grace past him into the house.

“I’m gonna go start dinner,” Danny says because Steve looks determined to pry all the rocks out of his shoes.

“I put some steaks in to marinade,” Steve says. “I thought we could grill. Maybe do baked potatoes.”

Danny nods and ruffles Steve’s hair as he goes past. Neither of them say anything about the cloud of dirt that that shakes loose from the strands.

*

When Steve appears in the kitchen, he’s wearing clean clothes and his hair is damp. Danny is folding foil around packets of vegetables to throw on the grill with the meat and potatoes. Steve wanders over to him and wraps his arms around him from behind.

“You okay?” Danny asks after a minute of silence.

Steve makes a muffled sound into Danny’s hair. Danny sighs and turns in his arms to look up at him. When their gazes finally meet he asks: “What’s going on in that head?”

Steve heaves a heavy sigh and his shoulders sag, “I’m really tired and I miss you.”

Danny wraps his arms around Steve. It’s been a long week. Danny has been dealing with Rachel and Grace’s school. Steve has been partnerless at work. They’re both tired. Steve leans into Danny’s embrace and they hold onto each other.

“Me too,” Danny says softly, and he can feel Steve smile into his hair.

Grace thumps down the stairs. She sets her notebook and pencils on the table and bounces over to join them. She throws her arms around both men with all her weight and they chuckle and pull her into the hug.

They stay that way for a while until Grace says, “Danno?”

“Yeah, Monkey?”

“I’m hungry.”

Danny chuckles again and pulls away from Steve and Grace, “Yeah, ok.”


	36. Renegades (high school!au)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When John McGarrett ships his kids to the mainland after his wife's death, Mary goes to Aunt Deb in California. Steve... Steve goes to Uncle Adam in New Jersey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Renegades - X Ambassadors
> 
> Sooo... this song came on and while I love it all I could think of for it was High School!AU. So that's what I wrote.

**Renegades**

(mcdanno, high school!au, [renegades - x ambassadors](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tu4wWSbnIs))

 

_“Long live the pioneers_

_Rebels and mutineers_

_Go forth and have no fear_

_Come close the end is near…”_

 

Steve is seventeen when his mother dies. One day she’s there, ragging on him and Mary about homework and clean bedrooms; the next her car is a pile of scrap and they’re putting her in the ground in a closed casket. He’s sad until he’’s not. Until the rage pushes past the grief when his father tells him that he’s shipping them off to the mainland.

They don’t even get to go together.

Mary is fourteen and being shipped off to LA to live with Aunt Deb. Steve? Steve’s being shipped even further to Newark, New Jersey and an uncle he’s met maybe once in his life. Steve is seventeen and part way through his senior year. His mother is dead and his father doesn’t want him any more.

The anger lasts through packing. Steve doesn’t even tell John goodbye, he just gets out of the truck at the airport and walks away. He holds Mary’s hand until her flight is called. She hugs him for longer than she should and makes him promise that he’ll call as often as Uncle Adam will let him.

Steve promises, then watches his little sister get on an airplane not knowing when he’ll see her again.

He sleeps for some of the flight. Eats bad tacos on a layover in Denver. Pulls out the applications and brochures for Annapolis. He already knows that he doesn’t care what’s happening now, he’s still joining the Navy. He wants to be part of something bigger, serve his country like his grandfather did.

Moving to New Jersey isn’t going to change that.

Uncle Adam is John’s brother. He looks a little bit like him when Steve finds him waiting by the baggage claim for him. Adam claps a hand on his shoulder firmly and apologizes outright for his brother’s idiocy. Steve can’t help the little smile he gives in return.

In that moment Adam is more like Aunt Deb than John, and Steve is okay with that.

The drive home from the airport is… tense. Adam explains that his dad will be shipping the rest of his stuff in the next couple of weeks. He’ll start at the local high school on Monday. Steve appreciates having the long weekend to get used to being somewhere not home. It’s November and it’s freezing.

He’ll need a thicker coat.

The nice thing about Adam, Steve finds, is that he lets Steve be quiet. He doesn’t insist that he go explore the neighborhood or make friends. Adam lets Steve be. Steve takes the time to let some of the anger fade and he mourns for his mother and for everything he’s left behind. It’s a difficult process, aided only by the fact that Adam says Steve can call Mary. He’ll have to keep his calls to once a week, because cross-country is expensive, but he can call.

He calls her two days later and finds that she’s in about the same boat as he is. The weather in California is warmer, but that’s about it. Aunt Deb is Aunt Deb. They fall asleep that night to the sound of each other’s breathing and the knowledge that everything has changed.

Monday comes with a feeling of dread and reluctance. Adam drops Steve off at school and Steve spends nearly an hour in the office sorting things out. By the end of it he’s frustrated and grumpy. He’s got a map of the school, his schedule and a list of books he’s going to need to check out of the library.

It takes him fifteen minutes to find his first class and by the time he’s standing outside room 208 first period is almost over. He’s highly tempted to just skip the rest of this class, but he doesn’t know how far behind he might be and Annapolis is waiting. He heaves in a deep breath and pushes open the door to Mr. Hiller’s AP English class.

Twenty three pairs of eyes rivet on him the second he steps into the room. Steve resists the urge to hunch his shoulders. He’s six feet tall and new so he straightens his spine and hands his note to the teacher.

“Students,” Mr. Hiller says after glancing at the note. “This is our new student, Steven McGarrett. He’s just transferred from Hawaii. Why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself, Steve?”

Steve stares at Mr. Hiller with horror. His gut tightens because the realization that every single one of his teachers is probably going to make him do this. He lets the teacher pull him to the middle of the room. “Uh,” he says. There’s a titter of laughter and Steve looks over his new classmates.

There’s a blonde boy sitting in the middle of the desk off to one side. He’s got a stubborn chin and killer blue eyes and their eyes lock. Steve swallows, “I’m Steve, I’m from Oahu. I played football for my old school and my hobbies include surfing and hiking.”

“Thank you, you can sit by Danny there.”

Steve heads for the empty desk in front of the boy with blue eyes. He sits and pulls out his notebook. Something pokes him in the back of the neck and he turns a little.

Blue Eyes shoots him a grin, “I’m Danny.”

“Steve.” Steve can’t help returning the smile. Danny offers his hand to shake and Steve does before he turns back to the front of the classroom.

Maybe New Jersey won’t be so bad after all.


	37. We Are People (zombie apocalpyse!au part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pre-series. The zombie apocalypse happens, and Danny and Steve's paths still cross.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We Are People - Victoria Monet
> 
>  **Warning:** For minor character death and implications toward suicide. It's nothing major, and it's offscreen, but I want to avoid anything triggery.
> 
> Also, I'm so proud of myself. This chapter brings IBDC as a whole up over 100k words. Woo!

**We Are People**

(mcdanno, zombie apocalypse!au part 1, [we are people - victoria monet](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4V1AXVNPZOk))

 

_“Use all your human instincts for this one,_

_I’ll close my eyes and meet in the middle,_

_We’ll have it all, and we’ll be the rich ones,_

_So kiss me that way, kiss me that way…”_

 

It’s just rumors at first. Whispers of people getting sick. Of people attacking their neighbors. Of people eating other people... And then it’s not a rumor anymore. Danny is a police officer, he’s on the front line for the beginning of the end. He’s in the middle of a divorce and Newark is feeling more and more like a prison.

Then two of his fellow officers down three guys who attacked a store clerk in a mall and the whole world implodes. Quarantine zones and National Guardposts. It’s not just in the States, it’s everywhere. There are incidents in London, Rome, Paris and Hong Kong. Tokyo sees the first waves of riots. Street to street fighting against what the media has dubbed the undead.

Danny and Rachel do nothing but fight, but Rachel listens when he tells her to make arrangements to get herself and Grace out of the city. Half of the city is quarantined. Word comes down the chain that Manhattan is being evacuated. Danny sends his parents off with his sister and Matty to family out west.

The day that it all goes to hell is the day that the Navy is ordered to bomb Manhattan. Napalm explosions light up the sky for hours. Danny turns in his badge and goes to find Rachel and Grace.

“Rachel?”

Danny pushes open the door to the apartment and looks around. There are suitcases stacked in the entry by the table where he used to throw his keys after work. A glance around the front room shows nothing until Grace bounds in from her bedroom. He catches her and hugs her.

“Where’s Mommy, Grace?”

Grace is frowning and she looks worried, “Mommy’s sick, Danno.”

Danny pales and looks toward the hallway. He looks down at Grace and swallows, “Okay. I want you to get your things together and then come to Mommy’s room, okay?”

Grace nods and goes back into her room. Danny follows her down the hall to the door to Rachel’s room. He pauses, swallows and then pushes it open. A glimpse inside shows Rachel curled up on the bed. There’s an abandoned suitcase by the dresser.

“Rachel?”

Rachel turns her head to look at him and he bites back a curse. She’s sickly pale and clammy, her eyes rimmed in bloody red. “Daniel.”

Daniel moves over to the bed and sits next to her. He takes her hand when she reaches for him. Her breaths rattle in her chest and she shakes her head when Danny opens his mouth to talk. “Swear to me,” she says. “Swear to me you’ll get our daughter out of here. That you’ll protect her. That you won’t let those things get her. That she will never become one of them.”

Danny swallows again, nods, “I swear, Rach. I’ll find somewhere safe where she can grow up.”

“Teach her,” Rachel says, because Rachel may be a stuck up socialite, but she’s smart. “Teach her what she’s going to need to know.”

“I will,” Danny tells her. “I love you Rachel, I never stopped.”

Rachel smiles a little and lifts her hand to brush her fingers across his cheek, “I know. I love you too.”

“Danno?”

Both of them turn to look at the door. Grace is clutching her stuffed rabbit and hesitating in the door, chewing on her lip. Rachel reaches for her, “Come here for a minute, sweetheart.”

Grace climbs up onto the bed and snuggles into Rachel’s side, “You’re not coming with us, are you?”

“No,” Rachel says. “I’m too sick.”

“Are you going to die?”

“Yes.”

Grace starts crying and Rachel shushes her and pets her hair. They let the eight year old cry for a few minutes and then Rachel tells her, “I will always be with you, Grace. I love you so much. I need you to promise me something.”

“What?”

“I need you to promise me that you’ll stay with Danno and do what he tells you,” Rachel explains. “I need you to promise that no matter how tired or scared you get, you will always try to be happy.”

“I promise, Mommy.”

A series of horrible, wracking coughs shake Rachel’s frame and Danny knows it’s time to go. He rubs a hand across Grace’s back and tells her softly, “We need to go, Gracie.”

Grace nods, reaches up and hugs Rachel. She whispers that she loves her in her ear and then she gets off the bed and goes to get her things. Danny and Rachel wait until she’s out of earshot before either of them speak.

“I’ll protect her, Rachel.”

“I know you will. Go.”

Danny leans over and kisses Rachel’s cheek before he too leaves the bedroom. Rachel waits until she hears the front door close and then she struggles into a sitting position. She pulls open the bedside drawer and pulls out the revolver she keeps inside it. The bullets are in the closet.

She knows what she needs to do now.

*

It’s been six months since the world ended and the dead started walking. For Lieutenant Commander Steven McGarrett it might as well be a lifetime. He’s lost four of his team members. They’ve picked up several other military guys along the way. Several National Guardsmen and a few Marines. Their convoy is military, but they’ve got enough civilians to not really look it.

“Steve!”

Steve looks up from the map he’s studying. Every red X on the map is one more town or city that’s overrun and they’ll have to go out of their way to avoid or fight their way through. Miller is one of Steve’s guys. They were on the same Seal Team before Steve went into Naval Intelligence. He’s grateful that he’d been on loan to his old team when all this went down.

You couldn’t ask for better men at your back.

“What’s up?” Steve asked.

“Brig and Red encountered some civilians on their run,” Miller says. Steve’s eyebrows go up. They stopped encountering large groups of civilians months ago.

“How many?”

“Eight, four kids.”

Steve can feel his eyebrows trying to fly off his forehead. Children seem to have become a liability. They make noise when they shouldn’t, can’t run as fast as an adult and can’t protect themselves. The convoy has a few children in it. Three kids under ten a toddler and a babe in arms. They’re why they have an advance party.

“And they’re still alive?” Steve asks, bewildered.

Miller grins, “They made it out of New Jersey. Red says the leader’s got a big mouth.”

Steve grins back. Red would say that. Red is the gruff, monosyllabic type. Steve is a downright chatterbox compared to red. “We giving them supplies or are they joining us?”

“Don’t know yet, Brig says the guy wants to talk to you before he decides.”

Steve nods. With kids involved it’s best to be safe than sorry. Steve’s plan is a risk. Every person in the convoy is well informed of the risks involved. Of the fact that they might be headed to a place just as overrun as where they are now. They’ve all decided to take the chance.

Steve’s lost count of the people who have left because they decided the risk wasn’t worth it.

“They’re going to meet us at camp?” Steve asks.

Miller nods, “Yup. They agreed to stay at least the one night.”

“Roger that,” Steve replies. “Let’s pack it up, we’re starting to lose the night. Not much more we can do today.”

“You got it boss.”

*

Danny is amazed at the size of the camp. There’s an RV and a couple of big vans, but most of the vehicles ringing the camp are military. Several of them have fifty cals mounted on them. When Brig and Red lead them into camp they’re greeted by a woman with bright red hair named Anne. She shows them where they can set up for the night.

“How many of you are there?” Megan asks as she watches her kids join in on an impromptu soccer game.

“Forty two at last count,” Anne says proudly. “Most of us are military or family of military.”

“How’d you come together?” Danny let’s his sister ask the questions. Megan’s always been an expert interrogator.

“The Commander,” Anne offers. “He led his team and a mixed squad of Marines and National Guardsmen out of DC during the bombings. He offered to help them find their families. That’s how I got here. Brig is my husband, our boys are the two red heads.”

“And you all have just stayed with him?” Clara asks. She’s sitting in a camp chair, her youngest surviving grandchild in her arms. Sammy is three and out cold.

Anne nods, “He’s a good man. He’s got a plan that’s as sound as anything else. I know he’d die for any one of us.”

Before anyone can say anything else a humvee drives into camp followed by two motorcycles. It rolls to a stop nearby, filling in a gap in the protective ring of cars. One of the motorcycles continues on to the other side of camp, but one of them stops by the RV and Danny recognizes Red.

Four men get out of the humvee. They’re all in military drab. All big, tall men with rifles strapped to their chests. They talk for a minute before going their separate ways. The big blonde that is Brig heads in their direction alongside a tall man with dark hair.

He’s good looking and Danny is surprised that he even noticed, it’s been so long since he’s even thought about it.

Brig catches Anne when she throws herself into his arms. They kiss and Brig carries her the few feet back over to Danny and Megan, laughing. “Babe, really?”

“Really,” Anne says. She turns back to the Williams family, “We’ll be serving dinner in about twenty minutes.”

Brig grins wryly at Danny and lets Anne drag him away. The tall man watches them go with a little smile on his face before he turns back to Danny. He takes off his sunglasses and hooks them through a loop on his vest. His eyes are very green, Danny notes.

“Welcome, Commander Steve McGarrett.”

Danny shakes the offered hand, “Danny Williams. This is my sister Megan, my mother Clara and my brother Matty.”

“Nice to meet you,” the Commander says, and shakes each of their hands. He’s careful when he gets to Clara, makes sure he doesn’t wake the sleeping child in her arms. “Red said you had some questions for me?”

“He said something about a boat?” Matty asks.

The Commander nods, “Yes. Do you mind if I dump my gear before we talk? I’ll answer all your questions over dinner.”

Danny cuts Matty off, because he can tell Matty wants to make demands. They’re guests here though, and Danny can see the exhaustion in Steve’s eyes. Because he’s Steve now, not just the Commander. This guy might be in charge, but he’s not trying to hide behind any of that mysterious leader bull. It’s refreshing. “Sure. We’re not going anywhere tonight.”

Steve grins then, it’s breathtaking. And also slightly goofy. “Thanks. I’ll be back in thirty.”

Danny watches him walk away until Megan digs her elbow into his side. “He’s cute,” she says with a grin.

“Don’t,” Danny says.

“What?” Megan asks innocently. “I have eyes. I can appreciate a good looking man.”

“No,” Danny says. “I know that voice, I grew up with that voice. That is your matchmaker voice. Do not matchmake me, Megan.”

Megan just offers Danny an enigmatic smile and backs away from him. He groans.

*

The plan is thus: They’re going to drive across the country to California. From there they’re going to take a boat to Hawaii where apparently, they’ve been having better luck combating the undead than they have on the mainland. It’s outlandish and strange. The trip across the country will take weeks because they have to avoid most towns and cities. Most of the people here have never been on a boat.

“How do you know Hawaii’s any better than here?” Danny demands after Steve finishes outlining the plan.

Steve exchanges a look with the man he introduced as Miller. “My father is on Oahu,” Steve says carefully. “Before communications went down he told me that they were managing to hold Honolulu.”

“And how long has it been since you’ve heard anything?” Danny demands.

Steve sighs, “Six weeks.”

Danny stares. Six weeks? World infrastructure collapsed over six months ago. Power grids, communications, everything has been out for at least that long.

“Satellite phones,” Miller tells them. “Every eight weeks a satellite is in range and we have a small window to get a message through.”

“How?” Matty asks, stunned.

“The satellites don’t turn off just because there’s nobody down here to monitor them anymore,” Miller says. “Archie over there is our communications specialist.”

Archie is a geeky dude in glasses who waves at them from across the firepit.

“So in two weeks?” Danny asks.

“We’ll try to get in contact with my father again,” Steve says. “The current goal is to get as far west as we can before then.”

“And if you can’t contact anyone? If they’ve been overrun?” Clara asks.

“West is our best bet either way,” Steve says. “As much as I don’t like the idea of being landlocked, population centers are farther apart out there.”

Danny nods. He gets that. The farther away from the cities they are the better chance they have of finding a place they can settle. A place they can build walls around and live as normally as they can. He meets Megan’s eyes over Clara’s head. Danny has Grace to think of and Megan has her three.

She nods.

“Okay,” Danny says, pulling Grace closer into his side and meeting Steve’s gaze across the fire. “We’ll stay. At least for the two weeks.”

Steve nods, expression serious. He knows the kind of faith he’s asking them to have in him. “I’ll do my best to protect your family. We all will.”

“Yeah,” Danny says. “Well, I’m a cop from New Jersey, I’m not sitting this one out.”

Steve laughs and nods in agreement. No, men like them weren’t built to take the easy way. They were built to fight tooth and nail for what they cared about. Danny watches Steve scoop up the rest of his beans with the last few bits of his roll and thinks that maybe they might just have a chance here.

They have a plan and they have each other.

That’s more than a lot of people can say nowadays.


	38. Lullaby For A Soldier (homecoming)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve finally comes home after being deployed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lullaby For A Soldier - Maggie Siff
> 
> Okay, a note on the song. This is the song Maggie Siff did for S06E09 of Sons of Anarchy. I love that show and I love the music and this song just touches something deep inside my heart and when I was marathoning the show a while back I knew I had to use it.
> 
> I highly recommend listening to the song with this one.

**Lullaby For A Soldier**

(mcdanno, homecoming, [lullaby for a soldier - maggie siff](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmucVmr60HQ))

 

_“May you always be brave in the shadows_

_‘Til the sun shines upon you again_

_Hear this prayer in my heart, and we’ll ne’er be apart_

_May you stay in the arms of the angels…”_

 

Steve is tired. He hasn’t slept in over forty-eight hours, and he hasn’t had a change of uniform for twice as long. His hair is too long, sticking every which way, dried with sweat. He’s got road rash peppering the side of his face and the sole of his left boot is steadily separating from the rest of his shoe, letting in all kinds of weird things.

All in all, Steve is not the happiest of campers when he steps off the C130 onto the tarmac at Pearl-Hickam. He’s still in his combat webbing, he still has his rifle strapped to his chest. He heaves his bag up onto his shoulder and trades a fistbump with one of the other guys before striding toward the truck.

He’s going to eat a giant plate of loco moco, take an hour long shower and sleep for a week.

He throws his bag into the back of the truck, not caring how it lands as it rolls off the back seat onto the floor. Everything in it is dirty anyway. He unstraps his weapon and hands it off to Goon when the the guy jogs over. Steve isn’t allowed to take the rifle with him, it isn’t his, so he lets Goon take it. Goon gives him a huff of a laugh and some mocking through his giant bushman beard and Steve scratches idly at his own cheek.

He hasn’t shaved in almost two weeks.

The drive through the city is actually really nice. It feels mundane, normal. The noise of early morning traffic and people settles into his bones and he can feel himself relaxing as he goes. He stops at Lolo’s for a to-go loco moco. Lolo welcomes him home, but shoves him and his smell out of his diner as quickly as possible.

He parks on an overlook on the highway and sits on the open tailgate of the truck to eat. As he scrapes bites out of the styrofoam container he watches the far off ocean and his city and he relaxes even more as the heat of the meal warms him.

After he eats it takes a few minutes to get up the motivation to get up and get moving again. He takes off his webbing and tosses it into the back with his bag. Packs away his trash into the plastic bag Lolo was kind enough to provide, and finally points the truck toward home.

Home is a house on the beach. Home is sand and water and old creaky floorboards. The hinges on the front door squeak when he pushes it open and he knows he’s going to need to get out the WD-40. He drops his gear in the old chair in the hall that used to belong to his grandmother. He treads softly up the stairs, stopping at the first door to peer inside.

Grace has kicked off her covers, so Steve wanders in, stooping down to pull the blanket back up over her. She’s wearing one of his Navy tshirts and is snuggling her stuffed rabbit close to her chest. Steve perches on the bed just long enough to tuck the covers around her. He leans down and presses a kiss to her forehead.

He’s careful passing through his bedroom. Danny is asleep, the only part of him visible is a tuft of blonde hair. Steve gathers a change of clothes quietly and retreats into the bathroom. He dumps his uniform in a pile on the floor next to the hamper. There’s no need to contaminate Danny’s things with the grossness of his clothes. The ruined boots will go in the trash.

He can’t help the groan he lets out when hot water cascades down his back, pounding into sore muscles. He lets it roll over him for a while before he grabs at the body wash and Danny’s goofy loofah. He scrubs what feels like ten layers of skin off. The bottom of the tub collects dirt and grit. Once the soap coming off his body is no longer brown, he shuffles his feet around to encourage the heavy sediment to go down the drain.

He washes his hair more than once.

When he wipes the fog off the mirror when he’s out he marvels a little at the bags under his eyes. Brushes his teeth to get the fuzzy feeling off. Scratches at his cheek as he examines the healing road rash all down the side of his body. Decides he’s too damn tired to bother shaving right that second.

Danny will mock him for it, call him a neanderthal and a mountain man, but to be honest, Steve is kind of looking forward to it.

He shuffles into sleeping pants and a shirt and clicks the bathroom light off before he opens the door. He wanders over to the bed, lifts the covers and crawls in. Danny grumbles a little when Steve wraps his arms around him and pulls him close, tucking his face into the back of Danny’s neck.

His whole body feels heavy, like his limbs are all made of lead. He’s clean, he’s in his own bed. He’s out like a light in less than five minutes.

When his breathing evens out, Danny rolls over to peer at him. He quirks a little smile and presses a kiss to Steve’s lips, and then rolls back over. He lets Steve pull him close again and closes his eyes to go back to sleep.

Steve is home, there will be plenty of time for talking later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Goon is totally named after a character from Titan A.E. not gonna lie. ;P


	39. Flares (zombie apocalypse!au part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part two of the Zombie Apocalypse!AU. Hope is on the horizon, they just have survive California first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Flares - The Script
> 
> One sentence: GOOGLE MAPS IS MY FRIEND!

**Flares**

(mcdanno, zombie apocalypse!au part 2, [flares - the script](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WHb4Hf7fbE))

 

_“Well did you see the flares in the sky?_

_Were you blinded by the light?_

_Did you feel the smoke in your eyes?_

_Did you? Did you?_

_Did you see the sparks, feel the hope? You are not alone_

_‘Cause someone’s out there, sending out flares_

_Someone’s out there, sending out flares…”_

 

It’s late. The sky overhead is black and dotted with stars. The camp is mostly quiet except for a small huddle of men and women around the dying fire. There are two men stationed on top of the tallest vehicle in the convoy, the RV, keeping watch. A body can’t be too careful these days.

Archie is holding a satellite phone in one hand and a jury rigged radio is sitting in a camp chair next to him. Steve is holding the mic for the radio, waiting. Archie twists the knob on the radio and there’s a brief burst of static before he punches in a series of numbers on the satellite phone. There’s a series of beeps, a brief pause and then a ringing sound.

Several of the men around the fire cheer quietly. Miller hushes them and Danny sets his hand on Steve’s shoulder, squeezing.

There’s a crackle of static and then: _“Steve?”_

Another cut off cheer and Steve, grinning, hit the button on the radio and says, “Yeah, hey Dad.”

John McGarrett’s voice is rough when he speaks next. There is obvious relief that his son is alive in his tone. _“How are you? Where are you?”_

“I’m fine. We just crossed into Kansas,” Steve says into the mic. Several looks around the campfire are exchanged. Crossing the Mississippi at this time of year had been dangerous. With the rain the river had overflown its banks in several places. Some of the bridges had been out. They’d been forced to drive through a town to cross and they’d lost two vehicles and six good people doing it. “How about you?” Steve asks. “How are things there?”

 _“Pearl-Hickam was overrun a month ago, but we’ve got it contained behind the base fences. The city is mostly clear, but we’re still doing door to door searches,”_ John explains. Another series of looks makes its way around the circle, this time hopeful. _“You got a plan?”_

Steve looks grim and Brig nods at him before he speaks again, “Still west. We’re gonna hit Pendleton’s armoury when we get to California. I’ve got enough sailors with me we can manage a boat, the plan is to go after something in one of the smaller harbours outside LA.”

There’s another crackle of static, then: _“Steve, Mary.”_

“I know. I’ll find her, Dad.”

“Satellite’s almost out of range,” Archie says quietly.

“Dad,” Steve says, clears his throat and then continues. “If we’re not there by the next satellite something went wrong.”

 _“Nothing’s going to go wrong, Steven,”_ John says, voice fierce. _“You’ll be here. You’ve got people counting on you.”_

“Yes, sir,” Steve says. There’s another crackle of static and then the speaker goes silent.

“It’s gone,” Archie says, turning off the satellite phone to preserve the battery.

Steve sits back with a sigh. Rubs a hand down his face and Danny decides to give him a minute. He leans forward and sets his elbows on his knees, “How are we with supplies?”

Brig and Miller exchange a look. Over the course of the last two weeks Danny has proven himself capable. He’s a strong leader and he actually has better success reigning in Steve’s crazy better than the rest of them. He’s earned their respect.

“We’re good on ammunition,” Miller says. “We didn’t lose that much in the river.”

Brig is grim, “We’re getting low on food though. We’ll need to hit a town and stock up if we want to make it to California.”

Danny nods. He pulls out the map he’s developed the habit of carrying. It’s a state map of Kansas with towns and roads on it. He’s picked up a new state map every time they’ve crossed state lines. He unfolds it, smoothing it out while the guys lean over it. “We can probably hit one of the suburb towns outside Dodge City for supplies.”

“Gotta get ‘round Wichita first,” Red rumbles.

Brig traces his finger across the map, “We could take the 160 west, cross the 35 at Wellington.”

“Thirty-five miles?” Lou asks. He’s gigantic with a bushman beard and bald head. His skin is dark enough that almost all anyone can see of his face in the dark are his teeth. His eyes are closed and his fingers are tapping. Lou is their navigator, he breaths and sleeps maps. He’s counting the miles. “South Haven is fifty miles.”

“That’s a more comfortable distance,” Brig agrees. He backtracks and his finger follows the 99 further south. “The 166. 81 to the 44, back on the 160 just before Attica.”

Danny studies the map for a moment, then looks at Brig, “Medicine Lodge or Johnson City for supplies?”

Brig scratches at the scruff on his face in thought, then says: “Johnson City, it’s a little bigger.”

“Right,” Steve finally joins the conversation. He’s been listening, but not contributing. He has good people around him that know their jobs. “Looks like we’ve got a plan for the good state of Kansas.”

Lou stands up, stretching his arms over his head, “Early morning start. Night.”

He gets a series of good-nights and wanders into the darkness. Danny folds up his map and stands, hauling Steve to his feet and leading him away as the others go their own way. As he pulls Steve into their tent he’s reminded once again at how good Megan is at matchmaking, but shrugs it off. Grace is asleep in her sleeping bag on the other side of the tent with Clara next to her. Danny watches her sleep for a minute before he lets Steve pull him down into their mess of sleeping bags.

There’s hope burning in his chest. Hope that he’ll be able to fulfill his promise to Rachel and find a safe place for Grace to grow up.

*

Steve sighs and scratches at the back of his neck. It’s hot and his hat is only doing so much. The sweat trickling down the back of his neck into his gear is itchy. He’s standing in the bed of one of the humvees looking down at the wreck of Camp Pendleton.

“What do you think, Bones?”

Bones is a stick thin man who is almost seven feet tall. He’s all bony knees and elbows. When he joined the army he decided that ‘Bones’ was a better nickname than ‘Chicken Legs’. He’s laying on the roof of the humvee peering through the scope of his sniper rifle. “Fence ain’t down,” he drawls in his Alabama accent. “‘Cept in the one corner. No movement. Explosion took out the command building but the armoury’s intact.”

Steve hums and picks up his binoculars again. His own view confirms Bones’ assessment. “Okay kids, mount up.”

He stations himself behind the fifty cal mounted in the back as Bones slips from the roof and in the passenger side window. Lou makes a gesture out the driver’s window and Red flips him off as he passes on his bike. Steve’s body sways as Lou pulls out behind Red. The truck they use as a mobile armoury pulls in behind with a second humvee taking the rear.

They’ve got an armoury to raid.

*

Danny swears as the convoy comes to a halt. Again. They’ve been on the 5 for nearly four hours and despite the fact that they’re going toward the city instead of out, there are plenty of roadblocks. This time it’s an overturned greyhound bus and Danny can’t help but hope that Steve is having better luck.

The current goal is to get to Dana Point just outside of Newport Beach. There’s a small harbor there that they’re hoping will have something big enough for sixty people. It would be far safer to set up camp in Dana Point then Newport. The closer to Los Angeles they get the more zombies they see.

Danny gets out of the humvee the Williams clan had commandeered a while back. Matty comes with him and they circle the bus with guns out and ready. There are a few burnt corpses, and a couple of zombies trapped under the bus, but none walking. Matty deals with the trapped zombies while Danny turns to assess the situation.

“What’s up, Boss?” Wilson is freckled and cheerful and his ears and nose seem to sport perpetual sunburn.

“Lets hook up one of the humvees tow cables to the far side of the bus. Tow it to the shoulder,” Danny tells him. Wilson nods and starts barking orders.

It still amazes Danny that he’s fallen into a group that mainly consists of military personnel and their families. That these guys actually listen to Danny even though he’s a civilian. They’ve got a good group of people here. They’ve lost people in the month Danny and his family have been with them, but they’ve gained as well. Weeks ago, when Danny had arrived his group had taken the convoy from forty two to an even fifty. Since then they’ve gained another eight.

He’s responsible for the lives of fifty eight men, women and children.

There’s a mechanical whining noise, a grinding of gears and then the screech of metal as the bus scraps across the pavement as the humvee tows it across the road. Danny and Matty head back to the leading humvee and the convoy is on its way again.

*

Mary McGarrett is a tough customer. She’s not going to let something like the zombie apocalypse stop her from living. Her father taught her how to fire a gun and Aunt Deb taught her how prepare for the worst. When Deb got sick Mary was the one that put her down when she turned. When the city was ordered to evacuate Mary stayed.

She knows that Steve will come for her. Never a doubt in her mind.

So Mary stays put.

Three months after the world goes to hell and LA is bombed, Mary starts clearing her apartment building one apartment at time. It’s only a three story building with four units on each level, but it takes weeks to do. In the course of this she encounters Rebecca.

Rebecca was a new mother who got bitten in the course of trying to protect her daughter. Joan is six months old and bright and effervescent and Mary can’t say no when Rebecca begs her to take the little girl. It takes her days to get up the nerve to go back to the ground floor apartment Rebecca had holed up in in order to put down the zombie the woman had become.

After that it’s just Mary and Joan and the zombies. The learning curve to being a mother is steep. In this situation there is no room for error. One wrong move on her foraging trips and Joan would die. So Mary learns, and when, at eight months, Joan crawls at her chanting ‘Mama’, she cries.

Seven months after the world ends, and two months after Mary becomes a mother she hears it. The roar of engines and men’s voices. She checks on Joan, asleep in the pack and play before she heads for the window. She peers through the dark curtains she’d hung at the beginning of all of this and hope flares up in her chest.

Those are military humvees. Painted drab tan. The men are an eclectic collection, but Mary recognizes the man leading them on foot. She’d know Steve anywhere, wild hair and funky beard aside. Hell, she mailed him those sunglasses in a fit of caring over a year ago.

The humvees roll to a stop, Steve consults the crumpled piece of paper in his hand and then looks at the buildings. The men settle in and Steve jogs to the stairs of her building yelling, “Mary!”

Mary chokes back a sob and bolts for the door. She undoes the locks one at a time, saving the chain for last and yanks open the door. “Steve!” she yells back, and throws herself down the stairs. She collides with her brother on the landing where the stairs turn and they’re both crying and laughing and Steve is hugging her so hard her feet aren’t even touching the ground anymore.

Mary hugs him back just as hard.

When they both finally pull away from each other Mary punches her brother in the shoulder, “What took you so long?”

“Sorry, Mare,” Steve tells her. “I was in DC.”

Mary snorts and then takes his hand and drags him the rest of the way up the stairs, “Just for that you get to carry the heavy stuff. I assume you have a plan?”

Steve follows him into the apartment amiably, looking around curiously, “There’s a boat waiting for us just off the coast. Dad’s waiting for us on Oahu.”

“We’re going home?” Mary asks as she shoves things into the diaper bag on the counter. Formula and diapers, animal crackers.

“Yeah,” Steve grins at her. “I managed to get in contact with dad a couple weeks ago. They’ve got them contained mostly to the prison and the base. They’re working on clearing the rest of the island before they deal with that.

Joan chooses that moment to wake up. She lets out a whimper and Steve starts and his weapon comes up a bit. Mary grins, “You want to meet your niece?”

Steve’s confusion is apparent, but he grins and nods and Mary leads him into the bedroom. She stoops down and lifts Joan out of the crib and turns to face Steve. Steve’s face is gentle as he looks at the tiny girl. Mary kisses Joan’s cheek, “Say ‘hi’ to Uncle Steve, Joanie.”

Steve offers Joan his hand and she latches onto a finger and gamely gums at it and babbles at him. “Looks like I’m not the only one with a story, or a kid.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I kinda met someone. He came with a little girl attached.”

Mary snorts and foists Joan into Steve’s arms, “Figures it would take the apocalypse to get you to settle down.”

Steve entertains Joan while Mary shoves clothes into a pair of duffle bags. While she does he tells her about his cross-country journey. About the group of people he’s surrounded with now. About Danny and Grace. He trades Mary Joan for the bags and leads her down onto the street and the waiting humvees.

“Let’s go home,” Mary tells him.

“Yes, ma’am,” Steve says and puts the humvee in drive and pulls away from the curb.

There’s a boat waiting for them.


	40. Half Acre (new jersey!au part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve gets some leave and decides to spend it in New Jersey where he meets a beer brewing ex-cop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Half Acre - Hem
> 
> I think I accidentally started another thing that's going to be more than one part. *sigh*

**Half Acre**

(mcdanno, new jersey!au part 1, [half acre - hem](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Sq5Bvvx5nc))

 

_“But I am holding half an acre_

_Torn from the map of Michigan_

_I am carrying this scrap of paper_

_That can crack the darkest sky wide open_

_Every burden taken from me_

_Every night my heart unfolding_

_My home…”_

 

It’s raining when Steve hits ground in Newark. His boots touch US soil for the first time in over a year and his whole body is just tired. He’s got three weeks leave before he’s off to wherever they decide to send him next. He’s looking forward to not really doing much of anything.

He gets a room at the Holiday Inn. It’s November and he’s surprised to find out that Thanksgiving is next week. He turns up the collar of his navy coat, tucks his hands into the pockets and goes for a walk down the street. The lights of the city reflect off the pavement as the sun sets and gives the street a hazy glow.

The nice thing about Newark is that it isn’t Manhattan. It has the big, busy city feeling without blocking out most of the sky. He peers in shop windows as he walks and eventually comes across a bar and grill boasting local beer and the best steak he’ll ever have. Steve takes the invitation good naturedly and goes inside.

The hostess seats him in a booth by the window when he asks and he shoulders out of his coat and sits. The restaurant is dimly lit with low hanging green glass lanterns. The table is a nice, mellow oak wood that’s well cared for, but has certainly seen its fair share of war.

“Hey, welcome to O’Malley’s,” his server is a pretty girl with green eyes. She’s young, probably just graduated high school. “Anything to drink?”

“What’s local and good?” he asks her.

She grins and her nametag says her name is Sara, “I’ve got just the thing, I’ll be right back.”

He watches the rain patter against the window while he waits. When she comes back she’s holding two beers in dark green glass bottles and leading a blonde man that looks like he’s got enough attitude to fill a submarine. She places the beers on the table and the guy slides into the booth across from him.

“Danny Williams,” the blonde introduces, offering his hand.

Steve shakes it and then takes up his beer. The label isn’t anything special stating that it comes from the Williams Family Brewing Company, in business since 1873. Steve’s eyes flicker from the beer to Danny, who grins at him and gestures with his chin. Steve takes up the challenge and takes a swig from the bottle.

“Nice,” Steve says, and Danny grins. And it is, nice that is. A nice, dark stout with an oaky hint and a flash of maple.

“It’s one of our newest brews,” Danny explains, picking up his own beer. “We’re still field testing it.”

So that explains why he’s sitting with Steve. “I like it,” Steve tells him, drinking some more.

Sara reappears and watches them smile at each other for a minute before she clears her throat and raises her eyebrows. She taps her pen against her pad, “So, what’ll it be?”

Steve chuckles as Danny rags on Sara, who is apparently his niece. Then he orders his steak, medium rare, all the trimmings. Yes, he wants his baked potato loaded, thank you. Danny orders the same thing, throwing a wink at Steve when he looks over at him, surprised.

“It’s on me,” Danny tells him. “As a thank you for letting me use you as a guinea pig.”

Steve smirks and steals Danny beer when he finishes his. Danny protests, but it’s only a token protest. After that conversation flows between them easily. Danny is a full time partner in his family’s brewery. He’s a retired cop who was forced to switch careers after an injury blew out his knee. He’s divorced with one daughter who is the center of his world.

It sounds nice, having a home.

When asked, Steve tells Danny about the Navy. How he doesn’t get much time off but that hasn’t been that big a deal because he doesn’t really have anywhere to go. He gets along with his sister, but he and Mary have always done better when separated by state lines. He hasn’t spoken to his father since he shipped them off to their aunt in his senior year.

“So why New Jersey?” Danny asks him around bites of baked potato.

“Why not?” Steve wonders. He grins at Danny’s scoff. “I’m planning to spend some time cruising the museums in the city. Didn’t see the point of giving a hotel in Manhattan my first born, so…” he shrugs.

Danny laughs, “I get it.”

The conversation doesn’t end when the meal does. Danny orders them a third round of beers and they shut the place down with the conversation. Somehow he invites Danny and his daughter to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art with him the next day. Danny accepts since the next day is Saturday and agrees to meet him at the train station.

Steve heads back to the hotel after that and doesn’t realize until he’s closing his door that he smiled the whole way there.

*

It’s still kind of rainy the next day. Steve is introduced to a brown haired little girl in a pink raincoat at the train station. She quizzes him about Hawaii, about the ocean, about the Navy. She monopolizes the conversation for the entire train ride and Steve can’t be bothered to be bothered by it.

Danny spends the whole ride leaning back in his seat and smiling at them.

Steve isn’t used to kids, but he does like them. It takes Grace all of twenty minutes to warm him up to her. She still surprises him though, when she takes both Danny’s hand and his own during the walk to the museum.

They spend the afternoon wandering from room to room. Steve introduces Danny and Grace to Wolfgang Tillmans. Tells them about the buildings he’s actually seen in person. Grace makes them go see the faberge eggs and then asks for a pretzel. They get Grace a pretzel (Danny eats half) and agree on pizza for dinner.

It’s a good day.

*

Steve finds himself accepting an invitation to Thanksgiving dinner with the Williams family. He brings Clara flowers, because bringing wine to a family that brews beer seems silly. She puts them in a vase and sets them in the middle of the table.

He’s introduced to Matty, Marnie, Amber and Lauren, Danny’s siblings. They make faces and argue with each other and it’s so far from how he is with Mary that it’s weird but strangely wonderful. Sara belongs to Marnie, who is the oldest of the grandkids at seventeen.

There are eight grandchildren in total. When Steve says hello to Grace she screeches his name and hugs his waist. It might be the best, most excited greeting he’s ever received. She demands that he has to sit next to her at dinner and makes Clara rearrange the place settings.

He gets into a good natured argument with Eddie over whose team is better when Eddie finds out that Steve follows the Patriots and not the Jets. Danny rescues him and they spend a few minutes out on the steps in the yard listening to the noise inside.

He kisses Danny then. It’s sort of expected and sort of not. Steve likes it enough to do it again.

“This is gonna get really complicated, isn’t it?” Danny wonders. He’s got Steve’s jacket lapels in his hands and he’s frowning a little.

“But worth it?” Steve asks, because he knows he comes with a lot to get used to. He’s career military, he travels nine months of the year.

“Yeah,” Danny tells him. “It’ll be worth it.”

Clara calls them in for dinner and when they appear in the kitchen holding hands they take the ribbing from the family good naturedly. Steve settles down in his seat next to Grace with a smile. Danny is seated on Grace’s other side and winks at him while passing the yams.

Steve is really glad he chose New Jersey. Even if it has rained the whole time he’s been here.


	41. I Won't Give Up (zombie apocalypse!au part 3)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After seven days at sea, the survivors of the Zombie Apocalypse finally find out if Hawaii really is a safe haven.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I Won't Give Up - Jason Mraz

**I Won’t Give Up**

(mcdanno, zombie apocalypse!au part 3, [i won’t give up - jason mraz](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdN5GyTl8K0))

 

_“...At least we did intend for us to work we didn’t break, we didn’t burn_

_We had to learn how to bend without the world caving in_

_I had to learn what I’ve got, and what I’m not, and who I am…”_

 

It’s a very large yacht, not quite a cruise ship, but somewhere between that and fancy boat. Somewhere in the realm of “rich man’s annoying flashing of all his money”. It has four decks. They’re packed in pretty tightly, but it’s not like steaming around the Pacific Ocean was the plan anyway.

It didn’t help with the stir crazies, but the seven day journey from Newport Beach to Honolulu is the most relaxed any of them have been since the world ended. Parents sleep without worrying about their children running into zombies while playing. They set watches, do a very thorough inventory of everything they’ve got with them.

Red has the idea to build a makeshift crow’s nest on top of the bridge. He and Bones convince Jaime, who was a machinist before the world ended, to help them rig up and weld together some railings that they hung ripped up fabric on to hide the space they chose. Jaime humors them, rolling his eyes.

Steve is one of nine men with experience on boats. He is one of six with experience operating large vessels. Four are his fellow Navy Seals, one is a fisherman out of Gloucester, Maine. Steve and the others see to the day to day running of the vessel, leaving the fisherman (Jacob Kearns) at the helm as the man with the most experience.

Danny and Mary bond. They bond about children, they bond about Steve. Mary and Megan get on like a house on fire, add in Anne and they’re lethal.

All in all, they trip to Hawaii is quiet. Packed in like sardines they may be, but there are sixty of them. Sixty living, breathing human beings.

They get a ping on the sonar and the radio flares to life halfway through their seventh day. Steve is in the mess with Danny and Grace, eating a late lunch when Jacob’s voice calls out over the hailer that they’ve got activity on the radio. By the time Danny and Steve reach the bridge Archie is already messing with the device.

_“...Unknown vessel this is Hawaii Patrol Eight, come in?”_

A cheer erupts across the bridge. Steve raises a hand and it halts abruptly. He picks up the mic and when Archie nods, hits the button. “Hawaii Patrol, this is the Eva Marie. We are enroute to Honolulu carrying sixty souls.”

There’s some static, then a new voice comes on the radio, _“Steve McGarrett, is that you?”_

Steve laughs, surprise all over his face, “Yeah. Chin Ho Kelly?”

 _“Boy are we glad to see you,”_ Chin says cheerfully. _“Your old man’s climbing the walls. We’re on you four o’clock, about 20 miles out.”_

Steve turns to Miller, who is standing at the radar. He nods in confirmation and Steve grins. “Roger that, we’ve got you on radar. Feel like relaying that we’re coming in? We’re still too far from the island for short range.”

 _“Sure, brah,”_ Chin says. _“We’re going to intercept and escort you in. There are large parts of the harbor that are off limits due to proximity to infested areas.”_

“Sounds great,” Steve replies. “See you in a few.”

They sign off and the people on the bridge look around at each other for a moment. There’s a second of shock as it begins to set in. Following Steve across the country and getting on a boat headed into the unknown was the right call.

Hawaii really does seem to be their safe haven.

*

Chin joins them on the Eva Marie and the little retrofitted tugboat leads them toward Hawaii. Chin explains that most of the military vessels that were in port when the world ended are in the quarantine zone, unsafe to retrieve. There’s no telling what condition they’re in or if they’re infested, so they’ve made do with what they’ve got access to.

He explains what happened in a calm voice to a mess hall full of hopeful people. The Governor hadn’t been willing to sit back and use policy to decimate his state. Two weeks into the crisis, when Honolulu’s first zombie was recorded, the Governor ordered evacuations from affected areas and declared martial law.

The plague had still swept through the islands faster than they could contain it. All of the smaller islands were either uninhabited now or declared quarantine zones. Residents were evacuated to Oahu where they could be protected more readily. Pearl-Hickam and it’s surrounding suburbs, Sand Island and a twenty mile radius around Halawa Prison are all QZ. There are four designated areas meant for burning the corpses of dead zombies.

The military men and women who made it off the base and chose to stay in Hawaii were inducted into HPD, who in return became more militant. The nearly one million population of the island was decimated and now the city houses a meager forty thousand. It seemed for a long time that for every zombie HPD killed, three more took it’s place.

“We’ve got a decent handle on it now,” Chin explains. “It took a long time to create order. There were riots and looting at the beginning. People who didn’t like the Governor militarizing the police force. People who just take advantage of that kind of situation.”

“How are you clearing the city?”

“Door to door sweep teams. Four men each. We manage a couple of city blocks every day.”

“The problem being that whatever you clear you have to protect,” Danny finishes.

Chin nods, “Yes. Means less men for the sweeper teams.”

“What about the red zones?” Brig asks.

“Twenty-four hour surveillance.” Chin replies. “We’ve set guard posts every thirty feet around the prison and the base. They built a massive gate over the road onto Sand Island. It’s manned 24/7 as well, and they’ve set watch stations along the parallel beach every sixty yards.”

“Can they swim?” someone asks, alarmed.

“Not really. Water doesn’t kill them,” Chin explains, “but the water between Oahu and Sand Island doesn’t fall off the continental shelf and every now and then a walker will get through the gauntlet.”

“Gauntlet?” Matty asks.

Chin lips purse into a grim line and he nods. “Sharks. Ever since this started the entire coast is shark infested. Zombies wander into the water, thrashing about and not really going anywhere. It’s an easy, filling meal.”

“There were more zombies in the water around Sand Island than anywhere else, weren’t there?” Steve asks.

“Hence the nickname,” Chin says, nodding. “My cousin Kono runs the operation out there. She told me a couple days ago that if they see less than fifteen fins it’s a slow day.”

“But it’s safe?” someone asks.

“Safe enough,” Chin replies, zen-like and calm. “Safe enough for school to be in session and people to go to work. How we go about it is just a little different now.”

*

There are bright orange buoys that indicate the start of the off-limits areas. The tugboat leads the Eva Marie safely through the maze. She makes port and ties her lines and there is a large group of people waiting for them on the docks.

One of them is the Governor, ready to welcome them to Hawaii. Another is John McGarrett.

Steve loses all his dignity and rushes to meet John in a hug that Danny knows from experience is bone crushing. Mary foists Joan into Danny’s arms and runs to join them in a tangle of arms and legs that is vaguely identifiable as the three McGarretts.

“Who’s that man, Danno?” Grace asks.

“That’s Daddy and Aunt Mary’s Dad,” Danny tells her.

She nods thoughtfully, catching his free hand in her own. She started calling Steve ‘Daddy’ weeks ago when Anne had jokingly made Steve and Danny stand before the fire pit one night and exchange vows. She declared herself a justice of the peace (and her job really made her one) and by the powers vested in her declared them husband and husband.

Danny had laughed it off, but three days later Steve had come back from a scouting mission with matching rings that he’d liberated from a jewelry store. Miller’s description of Steve’s break in had quickly become one of his favorite stories to tell.

So, Danny supposes that in this day and age, that makes him and Steve married.

“Does that mean he’s my Grandpa?” Grace asks, looking up at him.

“I suppose it does.”

“Will Grandma be okay with that?”

Clara hadn’t been the same since Eddie had been killed. She clung fiercely to what was left of her family, but she had periods where she would gaze into the middle distance for hours. Danny knew that when it happened, she was reliving memories that were better than where she had found herself.

“I’m fine with it, darling,” Clara tells her, setting a hand on Grace’s shoulder. “He’s family.”

By this time the Williamses have reached the huddle of McGarrets. They break apart and Mary takes Joan back from Danny. Steve wraps his arm around Grace’s shoulders when she reaches for him.

“Dad, this is Joan,” Mary tells John. “Your Granddaughter.”

John looks floored, but smiles and says hello to the little girl his daughter took in and claimed as hers. He looks over at Steve and Steve grins.

“Dad, this is Danny, my husband, and our daughter, Grace.”

Danny steps forward and offers John his hand, “It’s nice to finally meet you, Mr. McGarrett.”

John takes a moment, but visibly collects himself. A smile crossing his face in delight. He reaches out and takes Danny’s hand, shaking it firmly. “It’s nice to meet you too.”

“Let’s go home,” Mary says, and they do.


	42. Curtain (witch hunter!steve part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve is a Hunter employed to deal with a demonically powered witch. Danny is a witch/cop who just wants his daughter back. Now with bonus meddling, matchmaking great aunts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Curtain - Eve 6
> 
> I'm just gonna come right out and say that I'm stoked that Eve 6 came up in the shuffle. They are one of my all time favorite bands and I'm gonna date myself by saying I remember the first time I heard Inside Out on the radio and saved specifically to go buy the album. I was thirteen and it was the first CD I ever bought. When they broke up in '02 I was devastated and then the most excited fangirl ever when they reunited in 2012 and released Speak In Code, which is the album the song used for this drabble comes from.
> 
> Anyway, fangirl moment over, on with the fic!

**Curtain**  
(mcdanno, witch hunter!steve part 1, [curtain - eve 6](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-PBkq9QiFQ))

 _“So I guess it’s goodbye brother_  
_Goodbye rock and roll_  
_Guess it’s goodbye to the only life I know_  
_It’s a shame you couldn’t just say you were hurting_  
_I’ll see you on the other side of the curtain…”_

He doesn’t look up when the door gets blasted off its hinges. There’s a storm raging outside that wasn’t twenty minutes ago and a man with power crackling around him in the doorway. The scent of ozone fills the little two room cabin, and every step forward the man takes leaves a scorch mark on the wooden flooring.

Steve calmly continues to put the last few bullets into the magazine before sliding it home in his sidearm.

“Where is the girl?”

“Girl?” Steve asks, raising his eyebrows and turning to face the man with the blazing red eyes. “What girl?”

The man lets out a howl of rage and throws a bolt of plasma at Steve. He ducks and rolls away from the table, which is obliterated in to a smoking ruin. He comes smoothly up to his feet, firing several shots as he goes. The witch screams in agony as each bullet meets its mark.

“Hurts, doesn’t it?” Steve asks conversationally, walking toward the witch writhing on the floor.

The wounds are smoking and Orson Meeks looks up at Steve with very human eyes this time, “What have you done?!”

Steve smirks, “I had the bullets blessed, of course.” Then he raises his weapon and fires three rounds in succession into Meeks’ head. The nice thing about consecrated iron rounds? Three to the head and no witch is getting up from that. He’ll burn the body to be sure, but still.

Steve holsters his weapon and grabs the ratty blanket off the sofa. He throws it over the body before he heads for the closed bedroom door. When he pushes it open Grace Williams is huddled in the corner, clutching a flashlight. She relaxes when she sees him. When he crouches down in front of her, she throws herself into his arms.

“Is the bad man gone?” she whispers into his neck.

Steve wraps his arms around the little girl and stands. She wraps her legs around his middle. “He’s gone now, honey. You keep your eyes closed until I tell you, okay?”

Grace nods against his neck and he strides through the cabin, out the blasted door and toward the beat up old truck he’d paid five hundred bucks for when he’d gotten wind of this case. He secures Grace in the passenger seat, tells her to wait and then retrieves the gas can from the bed of the truck.

As he collects his gear and splashes gasoline on all the furniture and the body on the floor he considers his next move. He’d been called by a light witch named Daniel Williams. Steve was the live and let live type, when it came to creatures and magic users; but if you were hurting or killing people all bets were off.

He had a hate on for anything even remotely demonically powered. Demonically powered witches were the worst.

Danny was a cop in New Jersey, not especially gifted, he had chosen to serve the greater good in a different way. Steve had heard of the Williams Clan of Witches before. They could be traced back over five hundred years and in all that time only two had gone dark. Steve had been impressed to learn that instead of letting the rogue members run free, the Williamses had dealt with it themselves.

Steve himself was from a line of Hunters that could be traced back just as far. His family had been members of the Knights Templar before the order had become corrupted. The McGarretts believed in the freedom to choose. He and his sister had been trained to live in either world, and at eighteen had been given a choice. The path of the Hunter or a normal life. Steve had chosen to be a Hunter. Mary had chosen to be normal.

Danny had been given his name by a man called Blake, who was Steve’s armaments guy. Blake had given a good reference and phone number. Steve had been in Ohio wrapping up a haunting when he called.

His ex-wife’s new husband had turned out to be bound in a Contract with a witch who had made a demonic pact. In exchange for his own survival he had traded on his new wife’s Talented daughter. Danny’s daughter. Stan had picked Grace up from school and vanished. Danny had been dealing with Rachel who wouldn’t say anything but that she was with Stan even though it was his weekend when his great aunt had called.

Gertrude Williams was a famous Seer. She was known for her accuracy and her ability to See with enough time to actually prevent a bad thing from happening. When she spoke, you listened. If she told you to be somewhere at a specific time, you showed up ten minutes early.

Gertrude had opened the conversation with: “Grace is going to be sacrificed to a demon in two days.”

Danny had, naturally, _flipped his fucking lid_. After screaming at Rachel and then wringing any information she had about Stan’s business dealings from her, Danny had stormed out of the house and gone straight to Stan’s office. Three hours later he had a name: Orson Meeks.

Another phone call from Gertrude and Danny was succinctly informed: “If you go after her you’ll both die. You need a Hunter. Call Blake in Albany, the first name he gives you will be the one you need.”

That first name had been Steve.

As soon as he’d found out that there was a child involved, Steve had called in several markers. He’d cast bones for a general location and then called Cath, who used a satellite that was in the area to locate Stan’s car. Twelve hours later and Steve was outside a house in Buffalo watching a dude in a robe rant at Stan, who he recognized from the photos Danny had emailed him.

Grace was huddled in a chair, trying to hide how scared she was.

Steve cut the power and came in through the front window. The element of surprise worked in his favor and in the ensuing struggle he made it to Grace and got her back out through the window. Stan was killed in the crossfire and Meeks was cursing his name. The priority was to get Grace to safety. The cabin had been in the family for years and he’d used it plenty of times before. It was far from any towns, the perfect place for a magic show.

The rest was history, Steve decided as he struck a match and flicked it onto the porch. The gasoline ignited and he strode back toward the truck. He turned the truck around and headed back toward the highway.

“Are we going home now?” Grace asks him softly.

“Yeah,” Steve tells her. “We’re going home.”

*

For Danny it is two days of utter hell. Rachel spends most of it curled up on the couch in his mother’s house, crying. Danny paces the floor, imagination running wild as he checks his phone every few minutes.

Clara bakes cookies and puts enough power into them to knock Rachel out and make Danny loosen up enough to slump into a stool at the counter and stare into the middle distance while gnawing on his thumb.

That’s how Gertrude finds him when she arrives. She comes in like she usually does, one moment she’s not there and the next she is and Danny has no idea how long she’s been sitting next to him. When she has his attention she pats his hand and says: “Don’t worry Daniel, Steven is exactly what you need.”

He has no idea what that means. “I have no idea what that means,” he tells her.

“I know,” Gertrude says, and doesn’t explain. Instead she asks Clara how she is and Danny sinks back into silence, letting the chatter of his mother and aunt wash over him.

He’s amazed he hears the truck at all. It comes to a rumbling halt at the curb and Danny looks around and then there’s a knock on the door. Danny is up and rushing out of the room so fast he knocks over his stool.

“Don’t worry, Clara,” Gertrude says, watching him go. “You’ll like this one.”

*

The door opens abruptly and Grace is lunging out of Steve’s arms and into a blonde man. Steve releases her into the care of the man that can only be her father. Both of them are crying and they’re joined shortly by a tall brunette that Grace calls Mommy. Steve watches, bemused, for a moment before he notices the little old lady standing in the doorway.

“Come here, young man,” she says, and waves her hand at him.

Steve edges around the reunited family and follows her into the kitchen where a woman his mother’s age is putting together what looks like cookie dough. He leans down and picks up the fallen stool and and sinks into it.

“I’m Gertrude,” the older lady says. “This is Clara, Daniel’s mother.”

“It’s nice to meet you both,” Steve tells them.

Clara sets a glass of milk and a plate of cookies in front of him before she gives him a floury hug, “Thank you for my granddaughter, Mr. McGarrett.”

“Steve. It’s Steve.”

“You’ll be staying, of course,” Gertrude says. She appears to be in the middle of the conversation rather than the beginning. Steve supposes that’s what happens when you’re a Seer.

“I will?” he asks.

“Naturally,” Gertrude says, nudging the cookies his way. He obligingly picks one up. “How else will you fall in love with and marry my nephew.”

Steve chokes on his bite of cookie and Danny exclaims “Aunt Gertrude!” from the doorway.

Gertrude gives Steve a conspiratorial wink and turns to Danny, “I’m only looking after your happiness, Daniel.”

“You’re a meddling old witch,” Danny says.

“Yes, I am,” Gertrude says, owning it. “I’m also right. You two are destined, it’s all over your auras.”

“Gert,” Clara says. “Don’t force them.”

“It’s my life!” Danny exclaims.

“Yes,” Gertrude says. “And I’m right.”

Danny huffs and throws his hands in the air, exasperated. He looks over at Steve, who has gone back to his cookie and is watching in fascination. “You gonna weigh in here?”

“I’ll go apartment hunting tomorrow,” Steve tells Gertrude and gets a kiss on the cheek for his trouble. Danny splutters. “What?” Steve asks him. “I know when to listen to a true Seer. Besides, you got my parents together the same way, didn’t you?” that last is aimed at Gertrude.

She nods, “Of course. Do you think your mother would have looked twice at that scruffy ruffian you call a father without a little help?”

Steve chuckles with a nod. Danny sighs, his shoulders slumping. He sits on the only empty stool at the counter and puts his chin in his hands, “I give up.”

Steve offers him a smile and nudges the cookies his way. Apparently they have an epic love story to start, he’ll need his strength. Danny takes one and smiles at the Hunter sitting next to him.


	43. Mary Go Round (steve and grace)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve and Grace spend some quality time together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mary Go Round - Serena Ryder

**Mary Go Round**

(steve and grace, [mary go round - serena ryder](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ix2cMRWfr9M))

 

_“... What about your stories_

_What about your fairy tales_

_What about the secrets_

_You don’t need to keep inside…”_

 

Grace hops up onto the carousel platform and sits down on one of the bench seats instead of climbing up onto one of the horses. She knows that Steve will let her ride the carousel again later. Steve settles into the seat next to her and hands her her sno cone, producing a plastic spoon from his pocket. Her feet don’t quite touch the ground, so she kicks her heels against the bench as she digs in.

“It’s not as good as Kamekona’s shave ice,” Grace decides after the carousel has started to move and she’s well on her way to purple lips.

Steve hums an agreement and sneaks his spoon past her to steal a bite of hers. She squeals and hits his hand with her own spoon. He laughs and offers her his cherry flavored sno cone and she graciously takes a bite of his. A very large one.

They’re having date night, just the two of them. Grace had insisted it was a date. She gets Danno/Grace dates, and Mommy/Grace dates and Danno and Steve have dates, she she had concluded that she needed Daddy/Grace dates too. They had a lot of time to make up for after all, Steve hasn’t been Daddy all her life.

Steve and Danny had laughed at her logic and agreed readily. When asked what she wanted to do she told them that she wanted to go ride the carousel at Kahala Mall and then have dinner.

So here they were, riding the carousel and eating sno cones. It’s a travesty because they’re sno cones, not shave ice, but they hit the spot anyway. By the time the carousel is done, Grace is finished with her treat. She hands her empty cone and spoon to Steve and goes to climb up onto her favorite of the horses. Steve relaxes into his seat and nods when the attendant looks at him questioningly.

She grins at him and starts the carousel again.

Grace waves at him, so Steve waves back. He pulls out his phone and takes a couple of pictures of her. He’ll show them to Danny later. He tips his cone back and drinks the rest of his sno cone, already regretting drinking the syrup at the bottom. He needs real food.

The carousel rotates to a stop and Grace climbs down and bounds over to him. Se makes a show of heaving him out of his seat by the hand that has him laughing and doing all the work. “All done, kiddo?”

She nods and they step off the platform, filing through the exit gate around the carousel. “Can we go to Candyland?”

“We can do that,” Steve decides after making a show of thinking about it. Grace grabs his hand and swings their clasped hands between them. “One thing.”

“Three,” Grace negotiates.

“Two, and we’ll pick out something for Danno,” Steve returns.

When they get to the shop Steve lets Grace wander the store looking at everything. They’re going to be here forever while she tries to decide on her two things. She’ll probably try to convince him that a pound of candy from the dispensers is one thing. He wanders over to the jelly bean display and contemplates it. Danny loved the buttered popcorn Jelly Bellies.

“You have a beautiful daughter,” a voice says to his right.

Steve turns to see a woman with a toddler conked out on her shoulder. There are two boys in the shop too. One is Grace’s age, the other is a couple of years younger. “Thank you,” Steve says, smiling at the toddler. “Worn out?”

“Finally,” she remarks, rolling her eyes. “His brothers fed him jolly ranchers in the car.”

“Ah, sugar crash.”

“Yep.”

Grace appears at Steve’s elbow. She’s clutching a roll of bubble gum tape. “Can I fill a bag?”

“One third,” Steve says.

Grace frowns, “Half.”

“One third.”

“Daaady.”

The woman beside him chuckles, smothering her laugh in her toddlers flyaway hair.

Steve derails the negotiation, “Popcorn jelly bellies for Danno?”

Grace nods, “Are you going to get anything?”

“I’ll share with Danno,” Steve tells her and she nods and goes off to fill her bag.

“Daddy-Daughter night?” the woman asks.

“Yeah.”

‘Well, have a good night, she’s lovely.”

“Thank you, you too.” Steve then fills a little bag with jelly beans and ges to find Grace. Her bag is a little fuller than he’d like, but he lets her get away with it. He carries the bag of goodies out of the store.

“So, what’s for dinner?”

Grace thinks about it for a minute, then smiles up at him, “I want steak.”

“Steak it is,” Steve replies, and this time he’s the one that swings their clasped hands between them.


	44. The Story (getting married)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day before their wedding, Danny and Steve still have things to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Story - Brandi Carlile
> 
> Fluffy pre-wedding feels! Whee!
> 
> I've officially put a chapter goal onto this for myself. The goal is to reach 50 drabbles on each of the current IBDC fics because I've been wanting to add another to the series, but there hasn't been an end in sight. So currently, when I reach 50 with all three of the current sets I'm going to start the fourth one and get it caught up.

**The Story**

(mcdanno getting married, [the story - brandi carlile](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8pQLtHTPaI))

 

_“I climbed across the mountain tops_

_Swam all across the ocean blue_

_I crossed all the lines and I broke all the rules_

_But baby I broke them all for you…”_

 

After he emerges from the water, Steve flops down on the sand and stares out at the waves. His chest is heaving from the exertion he just put himself through. He leans back on his hands and tips his face to the sky, eyes closed.

“Hey SuperSEAL,” Danny’s voice says, and a shadow crosses Steve’s face. He cracks open his eyes to peer up at the blonde man standing over him.

He smiles, “Hey Danno.”

Danny huffs and squats in the sand next to him, a fond smile on his face. “What are you doing?” he asks. “We’re going to be late.”

Steve decides that instead of answering the question he’s going to lean forward and kiss Danny. So he does. Danny kisses back, but pulls away when Steve goes in for a second one, a hand on his chest, “Nuh-uh. Nope. Shower, now.”

Steve whines at the back of his throat, but lets Danny haul him to his feet. He slings a damp arm across the blonde’s shoulder, making him grumble. “Can we just fast forward to tomorrow?” Steve wonders.

Danny pinches Steve’s bare side, making him flinch away, laughing. “We’re doing this, Steven,” he tells the taller man. “I don’t know about you, but Grace’s puppy eyes aren’t worth skipping it.”

“True.” Grace’s puppy eyes are lethal, and she knows it.

“Okay,” Steve says, grabbing his towel as they pass the chairs they keep where the grass meets the sand. “What’s the plan for today?”

Danny holds up his hand to count things off on his fingers: “One, pick up my parents at the airport. Two, you go into the office to finish up the last of the paperwork so Chin can take over while we’re gone. Three, I go pick up Grace and try not to get into a fight with Rachel. Four, you pick up Mary and Joan at the airport on your way home. Five, dinner with the entire Ohana.”

“Is that all?” Steve asks. His voice is laced with sarcasm, which earns him a gentle head slap and a shove toward the door.

“Go. Shower. We’ve got forty minutes to get to the airport.”

“Yes, sir,” Steve tells him, and then swoops in to steal a kiss before jogging into the house. Danny can’t help the half fond, half exasperated head shake he gives as he watches Steve vanish.

*

Eddie and Clara are grateful that their flight is on time. They’ve just traveled nearly five thousand miles in eleven hours and are exhausted. A ten year old in the seat behind him had continually kicked the back of Eddie’s seat, and it had only gotten worse once the kid figured out that Eddie was annoyed by it. Clara had had the unfortunate privilege of being seating next to a very chatty salesman.

When they step off the plane it’s with relief.

It’s very easy to spot their son and his fiance. For one, people are giving them a wide berth and amused looks. For another Steve (the much taller one) is holding a giant poster board sign over his head for the whole world to see. It has the words ‘have you seen’ in big, glittery pink letters and a large picture of Eddie and Clara underneath.

“Oh my,” Clara says, giggling.

Danny looks exasperated with Steve and they’re arguing good naturedly as Eddie and Clara approach.

“Grace made this sign, Danno.”

“That doesn’t mean you had to bring it with you.”

“Yes it does! She knows, Danny! She knows.”

“Oh for -!”

“Loose something there, son?” Eddie interrupts.

Danny and Steve turn to greet them. Well, Danny says hello, Steve sweeps Clara up into a hug that lifts her off her feet and sets her laughing again. The hug Danny gives his father is more manly and backslapping, but Steve makes up for it when he and Danny trade places.

*

Grace is so excited and energized that she flings herself off the front steps and into her father’s arms. She’s not worried, she knows he’ll catch her. He laughs and hugs her back with enthusiasm.

“Are Grandma and Grandpa here?” she demands.

“Yes, they’re at the house resting before lunch. You ready?”

“I gotta get my bag!” she exclaims, racing up the steps. “And Mom says you have to carry my dress!”

Danny follows Grace into Rachel’s house amiably. There’s a garment bag hanging on a hook attached to the coat closet door. He lifts it gently and slings it over his shoulder. He’s gentle about it, but he still feels the shoes in the bottom hit the backs of his legs.

Rachel appears in the foyer. “Daniel,” she says stiffly.

He isn’t going to let her rain on his parade, so he gamely answers her back, much less stiffly: “Rachel. How are you?”

“I’m well,” she tells him. “Congratulations.”

“Thank you.” He knows she peeved that she didn’t get an invite to the wedding, but he wasn’t invited to her’s and well, he really doesn’t want to fight on his wedding day. She’ll get over it or not, he’s decided it’s not his problem.

Grace charges into the room. She’s got her overnight bag and her rabbit. “I’m ready!”

*

Steve dithers over his paperwork long enough to get the rings from Chin, who had agreed to pick them up from the jewellers. After that it’s back to the airport to pick up Mary and Joan. It takes twenty minutes to figure out the installation of the baby seat in the back of the truck, but no one is around to witness it.

Mary comes off the plane with a smile and a joke about pre-wedding jitters. Steve retaliates by swooping in and stealing the baby. Joan laughs at her uncle’s antics and gives him kisses that, while slobbery, are awesome.

“Oh I see how it is,” Mary says, laughter in her voice. “You only invited me for the baby cuddles.”

Steve laughs and drags her into the hug with one arm.

*

Dinner is absolute chaos. There are people and food everywhere. Several toasts are made. Kamekona makes a point of forgiving them for not having him cater the wedding during his. Chin makes a crack about how Danny still has time to return Steve to the pound. The boys take the ribbing good naturedly.

Later, after good nights and hugs. After Grace is tucked in by not one, but both of her fathers. After Eddie and Clara retreat to the guest room and Mary waves them off from the kitchen where she’s warming a bottle. After Chin and Kono leave once the cleanup is done. After it all, Steve and Danny are finally alone.

Danny has the energy to change, but then flops face first into bed with a groan. Steve chuckles and then helps him get into the covers, climbing in after him. They listen to each other breathe for a few minutes.

“I love you,” Steve says quietly.

Danny snorts, “Remember that tomorrow when everybody is staring at us like a circus act.”

Steve make an amused humming sound and kisses the back of Danny’s head.

“I love you too. Now go to sleep.”


	45. Powerful (witch hunter!steve part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sequel to chapter 42, Curtain. A year and a half after their first meeting, and Aunt Gertrude was right... dammit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Powerful - Major Lazer feat. Ellie Goulding and Tarrus Riley
> 
> The song largely lended itself to this. I thought it fit for this verse, so that's where I took it. It's not much, and it became more of a slice of life, look at the routine they've settled into after a year, than a big epic adventure. *shrugs*

**Powerful**

(mcdanno, witch hunter!steve part 2, [powerful - major lazer feat ellie goulding and tarrus riley](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6b9JpBFjd4))

 

_“When you hold me in your arms_

_Burns like fire, electricity_

_When you’re close I feel the sparks_

_Takes me higher, to infinity…”_

 

The cartridge clears the rifle with a metallic clatter. Steve shifts minutely, setting his eye back to the scope. There’s a frown of concentration between his eyebrows as he follows Danny’s movements through the scope. The detective is crouched over the body of his suspect, searching for a pulse.

If the Necromancer collapsed on the pavement still has a heartbeat, he is still a danger.

The case had started out routine. Danny has a reputation on the force for being able to solve the weird cases, so they get pitched his way. He’s a witch, not particularly Gifted, but he’s still a witch. He doesn’t have an active power, but that doesn’t mean he can’t cast a damn good spell when he wants.

When the signs had started to point toward a necromancer Danny had cursed the air of the precinct blue and made a scowling phone call. Steve was in New Hampshire dealing with a wendigo. If it hadn’t been such a public case, he’d have called Matty or one of his sisters to help deal with it, but as an official case he needed someone with official credentials.

And wasn’t that a hell of a surprise? Danny had learned a lot about his lover in the last year and a half, but the most surprising (and somehow not surprising) thing about him was that he was actually a badge. He worked for Homeland Security. The fact that the government is aware of, and has a unit to deal with the supernatural isn’t as surprising as Danny feels like maybe it should be.

So Steve has a badge, and can be brought in on the case officially. Not having to hide anything about his investigation is novel. He likes it.

Steve has to finish the thing with the wendigo before he can come home, so by the time he blows into the precinct there are two more dead and Danny’s gotten himself on the necromancer’s radar for saving a third.

Hence why Steve is perched with a sniper rifle on this rooftop and Danny and bunch of other cops are down there. Steve watches as Danny looks up at him deliberately and nods.

Target neutralized. He turns to pack up the rifle.

*

“Hey, babe,” Danny says when Steve gets back to the precinct. He’s got a phone tucked into the crook of his shoulder. He’s not wearing a suitcoat and his sleeves are rolled up to his elbows. Between that and the shoulder holster for his sidearm and he’s all kinds of sexy in Steve’s eyes.

“Don’t,” Danny tells him, pointing his pen at him. He recognizes the look in Steve’s eyes. “Don’t even think about it.”

Steve thinks about it, then does it anyway. He swoops in, cradles Danny’s head in his hands and plants a kiss on him. Danny smacks him away as the other guys in the bullpen start catcalling. He retrieves the phone that had clattered to the desk while smacking Steve with his notebook. Steve doesn’t look remotely sorry.

“You’re lucky I’m on hold, you goof!” Danny tells him. He’ll be taking crap from the guys for that for the rest of his life. Most of the guys don’t really give a shit that Danny’s in a relationship with another guy, and he can handle the one’s that do care. Taking a homophobic douche down a few pegs will actually probably be pretty therapeutic.

Steve gives him that grin, the unrepentant one mixed with the sappy puppy in love one and Danny forgives him.

*

Grace settles herself on the couch next to Danny. She sets the giant bowl down in her lap and starts to paw through the night’s loot. The neighborhood Danny grew up in has always gone all out for Halloween, it’s the reason why they’d taken her there for trick or treating instead of their own. Danny grunts as he shifts, slouching down to tuck himself into Steve’s side.

This is nice. He can’t believe he’s used to this.

On the TV Hocus Pocus starts.

It’s been a week since the necromancer. A week since Steve got home and assaulted Danny’s senses with nonsensical Halloween decorations and pumpkins. Grace loves that one of her parents is finally a holiday person. Steve loves Halloween and Christmas with an unholy glee that makes Danny believe that the attic of the house they retire to will be filled with fifty years worth of decorations.

It’s actually kind of nice. Steve is a giant dork, but he’s a dangerous, demon hunting dork. And he’s Danny’s.

Aunt Gertrude will never let him forget it.

“What are you thinking about?” Steve asks him softly.

Danny grins and looks up at Steve, “Aunt Gertrude and how right she was.”

Steve chuckles, jostling Danny, “She usually is.”

Danny pokes him in the side, making him flinch “Shut up and kiss me.”

“Yes, sir,” Steve says, and does just that.


	46. The Maze (new jersey!au part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Add-on, mini-sequel to chapter 40, Half Acre.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Maze - Michael Schulte
> 
> Not really a true sequel, more like a little add-on to lead into the sequel.

**The Maze**

(mcdanno, [the maze - michael schulte](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFyuWKJo3_8))

 

_“My world is breaking, now I’m shaking,_

_Like a hurricane inside my bones,_

_My world is breaking but I’m taking it,_

_Like I can see the lights of home…”_

 

Steve’s boots touch dirt as soon as the helicopter touches down. He’s ducking out of the aircraft and heading across the tarmac with the other members of his team before the rotors have stopped spinning. The high desert sun is beating down on them with a ferocity that has long since burned them all past red into a deep tan.

It’s been a hell of a long week, Steve thinks to himself. The team’s been on mission for the past three weeks. Steve has showered exactly three times. He’s wearing a uniform that is encrusted with dirt and sweat, and he knows he’s odorous. The whole team is nose blind, has been for over a week.

It’s amazing.

Steve slides the strap of his rifle over his shoulder and pops open the cover on his watch. If he runs he should be able to make it to the communications tent in time for his scheduled skype call with Danny. He bumps a fist in farewell with Peters and heads that direction.

Danny. It’s been six months since that fateful Thanksgiving. Since a leave that had deposited him in rain soaked New Jersey where he met a beer brewing blonde that spun him around like a top and then caught him when he fell. He got one week in February, but otherwise the whole relationship has been conducted long distance.

Steve isn’t sure he likes that; and that’s just a kick in the head.

He says hello to the sergeant on duty and pulls off his hat and sunglasses as he sits in front of the screen. He signs into his account and hits the button to video call Danny. Ringing sounds from the speakers, and then Danny is appearing on the screen and something in Steve’s chest loosens.

“Wow babe, you like like hell,” Danny says in greeting.

Steve laughs, “Gee, thanks.”

Danny’s smirk softens and Steve still can’t believe that this amazing guy has decided that Steve is worth all the crap he’s being put through. “How are you, really?”

“I could use a bath and some sleep, but I’m okay.”

“Yeah, I can smell you from here.”

“Ha. Hahaha,” Steve deadpans in response. “How’s things there?”

“We’re good here. Grace is getting really excited about school letting out for the summer,” Danny informs him. There’s a pause, then: “Any word on your next leave?”

“About that -”

“If you’re about to tell me you’re not coming coming home for another six months and then it’ll only be for a week, I’m going to reach through this screen and strangle you.”

Steve grins, the tech gives him a strange look and Steve shakes his head. “No, that wasn’t what I was going to say.”

“Okay, then what?”

“My deployment’s almost up and I was thinking about transferring to the reserves,” Steve began. “Or maybe transferring to a different posting, maybe training or something.”

“Yes,” Danny says, face lighting up. “By all means come home and stay home.”

Steve laughs again, “You might get sick of me if I do.”

“Yeah, well, I’d like the chance to find out for sure,” Danny replies.

Steve can’t help himself and reaches out to brush his fingers across Danny’s face on the screen. Danny’s face softens and he smiles gently at him, because the separation has been hard on him too and he gets it.

“Okay,” Steve tells him; “I’ll start the paperwork asap.”

“Sounds good, babe,” Danny says. “Sounds perfect.”


	47. Never Forget You (new jersey!au part 3)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve finally comes home from his deployment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Never Forget You - The Noisettes
> 
> Okay, so a heads up. I signed up for NaNoWriMo this year! Starting November 1 I'll be switching gears and concentrating on my project for that. I'm not good at leaving things alone, so I probably won't be putting this on hold completely, but updates will be much farther between.

**Never Forget You**

(mcdanno, new jersey!au part 3, [never forget you - the noisettes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRFHiBW9RE8))

 

_“I’m sorry I’m a little late_

_You know the stripes on a tiger are hard to change_

_I know this_

_World feels like an empty stage_

_I wouldn’t change a thing_

_So glad you’re back again…”_

 

The plane is late. Of course the plane is late. When you are excited to the point of jittering out of your seat, whatever you are waiting for is always late. The minutes drag by, each one lasting an eternity. Danny is sitting in a chair facing the gate Steve’s flight is expected to come in on. Grace is pressed against the floor to ceiling windows that look out over the ramp and runway.

It’s an amazing sight, all those gigantic airliners with the runways in the background so you can watch the planes take off and land. Every time a plane pulls up onto the ramp Grace turns and asks Danny if that’s Steve’s plane. Danny, of course, can only say he doesn’t know because they all look the same to him save the logo on the planes.

Danny shifts in his seat as another American Airlines airliner pulls onto the ramp, coming closer. Hopefully this will be Steve’s plane because his butt is starting to go numb. Grace bounces in place and presses both hands to the glass as the plane gets bigger and bigger as it comes toward the gate.

_“Ladies and gentlemen, flight 256 from Fayetteville North Carolina is now arriving at gate 6A.”_

Danny stands up at the announcement and walks over to watch the plane line up with the gate next to Grace. When Steve had said he was finally coming home, both Danny and Grace had been ecstatic. Then Steve had called and said he had to stop over at Ft Bragg for paperwork reasons and would be a day later than expected

That had gone over about as well as a lead weight.

The nice thing about the later flight though, was that Danny and Grace could wait at the gate because Steve was flying domestic instead of internationally. Then the flight had been delayed a couples of hours because of inclement weather. Stupid east coast October weather.

The plane rolls to a stop and Grace grabs Danny’s hand, dragging him closer to the gate and into the group of people who are also waiting for the flight. He lets her. When the first few people off the plane start to appear, Grace starts bounding again, then goes to her tiptoes trying to see.

“Do you see him yet?” she demands of her much taller father.

Danny watches people disembark until he catches sight of a familiar head of brown hair and a tall body clad in a camouflage uniform. He leans over and points for Grace until she spots him too. It takes a minute, but Steve clears the gate and the person in front of him moves and Grace screams shrilly in her excitement.

“DADDY!” she yells at the top of her lungs and darts forward.

Steve looks surprised for a second, but that is quickly put away in his joy at seeing Grace. He drops his carryon and stoops to catch the eight year old, swinging her up into his arms and hugging her back for all he’s worth. They stand there, making an obstacle of themselves to the other passengers as they hug, swaying back and forth a little.

The fact that Steve is in his operational uniform and that he’s hugging a little girl gets them a pass as the people surrounding them smile and grin at each other at the reunion. Steve has obviously just gotten home from deployment.

Danny meanders over, hands in his pockets, smile on his face. Steve looks up from where his face was buried in Grace’s hair, and he’s got tears on his cheeks. He’s thinner than Danny remembers (the camera on the computer disguises it, apparently) and he’s grinning.

“Welcome home, babe,” Danny says with a grin.

Steve hauls Grace around onto his hip and reaches out with his now free arm to reel Danny into the hug. Danny goes willingly and Grace giggles and lets go of Steve enough to wrap one of her arms around her father. The trio stands there for a few minutes, just embracing. As much as he wants to kiss him, Danny knows that’s better saved for more private places, and reluctantly pulls away.

“Okay kids, let’s go get luggage and then blow this joint,” Danny says.

Grace leans back to look at Steve, “Carry me?”

“Like you could stop me,” Steve replies.

Danny stoops down and picks up Steve’s carryon and and follows his two favorite people toward the baggage claim. Grace is honestly too big for carrying anymore, so they look a little comical, but none of them mind.

“We’re joining the family for a welcome home dinner at my parent’s,” Danny informs Steve, as they step onto the human conveyor belt.

Steve smiles at that, because he hasn’t had a home cooked meal in over a year and Cara’s a really good cook. “That sounds fantastic,” he tells Danny honestly.

Danny grins back at him helplessly. He’s suddenly glad that he knows that Steve is home for good. He’s filled out all his paperwork to transfer to the reserves and has been offered a job by the Governor of New York to head up a special task force, so he’s got work lined up.

They’ve got their life all lined up, and now it’s time to start living it.


	48. Burning House (wounded)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve gets blown up, and Danny sits vigil.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Burning House - Cam
> 
> So, Nano seems to have burned me out a bit. It probably doesn't help that I work in retail and it's December. This will probably be the last one of these until after the new year. I'm hoping to get at least one more in on the other sets in the series, but we'll see what happens.

**Burning House**

(mcdanno, wounded,  [ burning house - cam ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyGSe76rAJc) )

 

_ “I’ve been sleepwalking too close to the fire _

_ But it’s the only place that I can hold you tight _

_ In this burning house…” _

 

The heart monitor is a steady beep, beep, beep that consistently tells him that the man in the hospital bed is alive. That’s he’s breathing, and that his heart continues to pump blood through his veins. He’s deathly pale, with hollow cheeks from too much time spent burning more fuel than his body could replace. There’s scrapes all up one side of his face, and he’s swathed in bandages underneath the seafoam green blanket.

“Dammit, Steven,” Danny says hollowly. His voice is loud in the quiet of the hospital room. He sits down heavily in the chair next to the bed, and reaches out with a trembling hand to take Steve’s in his own.

Steve, naturally, stays silent. Danny doesn’t like it, Steve is supposed to have a retort ready to throw back at him. A quick remark and that stupid smirk that Danny loves so much.

“What happened?” Danny asks, his voice deceptively level.

Joe White, who is standing in the doorway to the room, winces. He knows Danny we enough to know that level, calm Danny is the one you need to be truly scared of. He steps a little closer to Danny, “It was an IED…”

Danny turns stormy eyes on Joe, and Joe steps back again. “It was supposed to be an easy fact finding mission, Joe,” Danny says flatly. “Not a combat mission.”

“There’s only so much we can to do make sure the field is safe, Danny, you know that.”

Danny snorts, but subsides. There’s a stretch of silence, in which Jow takes it as permission to take up residence in the other chair.

“He’s going to be okay, Danny,” Joe tells him. “He’ll be up and around in no time.”

“He got blown up, Joe,” Danny says. His voice is still flat, but the expression on his face tells Joe that he’s going to get over this. “Never again. He’s not active anymore. No more secret missions. Find someone else.”

Joe nods, but doesn’t say anything. They both know he can’t promise Danny that the Navy will never call upon Steve again. Steve is a lifer, he’ll be Navy until the day he dies. Hopefully that will be many years from now. It will be, if Danny has anything to say about it.

They sit in silence for a while. Eventually Joe pulls a crumpled paper back from his pocket and settles in for the long haul. Danny sits back, not letting go of Steve’s hand. He sighs, closing his eyes, and some of the tension eases from his shoulders.

*

There is a steady beeping that creeps into his awareness with annoying frequency. His brow crinkles, and when he goes to shove at Danny to get him to turn it off, whatever it is, searing pain shoots through every aspect of his being. He groans.

“Hey, babe, don’t move.”

“Danny?” he tries to ask, but it comes out more like a mumbled slur that barely resembles the name.

“Yeah, it’s me,” Danny’s voice says, and it is accompanied by a soft, familiar touch to the side of his face. Steve manages to pry his eyes open, and Danny’s face swims into view, he tries to smile. He must succeed because Danny grins at him. There’s a relieved edge to that smile though.

“S’rry,” he slurs out, his mouth and voice not coordinated enough yet to form the word properly.

“I know,” Danny tells him, “but let’s not make it a habit of yours to get blown up in far away countries, okay?”

Steve would nod if he didn’t think that that would cause him pain, “Okay.”

Danny’s smile changes, this time a little less worried, and more happy to see him. Steve likes this one better. “Good, because you promised a certain little girl you’d be home in time for her birthday,” Danny says, “and we wouldn’t want to disappoint her, would we?”

Steve manages to smile at the mention of Grace. “Yeah,” he says, and Danny has to lean closer to hear him, “Gracie. G’ing home?”

“Soon,” Danny tells him. “Very soon. You get some more sleep.”

Sleep sounds fantastic. “Be here?”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

“Good,” he says. He thinks he says. Good. He drifts off back into the darkness, this time in rest.


	49. The Rendezvous (exhausted)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been a long few days, and all they want is to get some sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Rendezvous - Lee Coulter
> 
> I don't know where the mighty need for sleep in this came from. The song is an up song with a great beat. Whatever, my muse is strange.

**The Rendezvous**

(mcdanno, exhausted, [ the rendezvous - lee coulter ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTyzyMnxa4c))

 

_“Come on let’s rendezvous at the new day’s dawn_

_If you want to love like it’s a revolution_

_There’s no need for armor, there’s no place for war_

_Because it’s love, love, love we’re fighting for…”_

 

The sun is finally rising. The sky is mostly gray with shades of pale pink encroaching at the corners. Steve sits on the edge of the rooftop, shoulders slumped with exhaustion. He hasn’t slept in three days, but it was worth it. The murderer they’ve been chasing is headed for a cell at Halawa.

“Hey, babe,” Danny appears next to him, hands in his pockets and a small smile on his face. “What’s going on in that head?”

His head feels hollow, so he’s not sure there’s anything in it. “I’m tired,” he says.

“Good,” Danny states, earning himself a look of disbelief. “That means you’ll let us all go home and sleep, instead of forcing us into the office to complete all the paperwork this manhunt generated.”

It takes Steve a few minutes to take in that statement, and then he chuckles and shakes his head, “Yeah, okay.”

Steve gets to his feet, stretches his back and neck, then heads for the door to the stairwell. Danny follows, still amused. It’s not every day he catches Steve flat footed without an easy retort at hand.

He still doesn’t get to drive his own car, despite the exhaustion lining Steve’s face.

Danny doesn’t say anything when Steve drives them to the McGarrett house like Danny doesn’t have his own place. He just follows the tired SEAL into said house indulgently. He could just take his keys and leave, but he doesn’t trust Steve to get into bed without him.

“Go to bed, Steven,” Danny orders Steve’s back. The taller man is rummaging in the fridge. Steve grunts and pulls his head out of it to look at him, not even sure anymore what he was looking for in the first place.

“Yeah, okay,” he says again.

Steve doesn’t even consider his actions, he just closes the fridge, presses a kiss to the side of Danny’s head and heads for the stairs. Danny decides, as he watches Steve meander up the stairs, that he likes tired, dopey Steve. He can’t help the small smile on his face. He’s finally got evidence that Steve would be open to a relationship with him; a real relationship.

He sets about shutting down the house. Calls Chin and Kono as he checks the locks to let them know that the current plan for Five-0 is a long weekend out of the office. Unless something urgent comes up. They’re always on call. Then he calls Grace to let her know that they’ll be spending the weekend with Steve. She’s amenable to that plan.

When Danny finally makes it upstairs, he finds Steve sprawled on the bed, fast asleep. There’s a heap of clothes and boots at the foot of the bed. The tall man is spread eagle on his back, mouth hanging open slightly.

Danny is very surprised he’s not snoring.

He picks up the dirty clothes and deposits them in the hamper. Takes care of the boots and his own shoes. Uses one of the new toothbrushes that Steve keeps under the sink. By the time he’s changed into a borrowed pair of sweats, the last three days have caught up with him.

Damn, he’s tired.

He sits down on the edge of the bed, “Roll over, Steven.”

Steve trusts Danny, knows his voice well enough to just do what it orders him to. He rolls onto his side, leaving a space big enough for Danny to lay down. Danny does so, settling onto his own side with a relieved sigh.

Finally, bed.

Steve rolls again, wrapping his octopus-arms around the blonde and setting his nose into the back of his neck. Danny pats the arm now wrapped around his chest. Steve laces their fingers together. “Love you, Danno,” he murmurs, still mostly asleep.

Danny can’t help himself, he smiles at the muttered statement, “I love you, too. Now go to sleep, Steven.”

Steve huffs a tiny, sleepy laugh against his neck and stills. He’s asleep almost instantly. Nothing shy of explosions or gunshots will wake him now. Danny relaxes and lets Steve’s steady breathing lull him to sleep.

Outside, the sun continues to rise. The birds of the island wake to greet it. The world is quiet, if only for a little longer.

They sleep.


	50. For Bitter or Worse (new jersey meets mcdanno)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New Jersey gets a taste of the Steve and Danny show.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Bitter or Worse - Anouk
> 
> I am not even remotely ashamed at how much I adore the how-long-have-you-been-married trope when it comes to these two. Not at all.

**For Bitter Or Worse**

(mcdanno, new jersey meets mcdanno, [ for bitter or worse - anouk ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VAnos0IAD0))

 

_“Just walk back a little bit faster_

_Take my hand, I will blow your fears away_

_Break through to the other side_

_For bitter or worse, I know you better than anyone else_

_And I’ll be by your side…”_

 

Danny has been in New Jersey for three weeks when Steve gets the call. Not only has Danny been dealing with the fallout created by Matty, but somehow he’s managed to catch a case. Steve doesn’t know how Danny dropping by his old precinct to say hello qualifies taking on a case, nor does he care, he just calls in a favor and is on a military transport headed east within an hour.

For his part, Danny really hadn’t meant to butt in. He can’t help it though. He deals with unusual cases like this all the time, and his old Captain had just gotten reamed by the governor. If he hadn’t spent the last two years with Steve as his partner, he would probably have brushed it off as not his business. But Steve is his partner, so he does butt in.

The ensuing conversation had found him offering his help.

“Hey, Danny,” Kono’s voice rings across the desk space that he’s commandeered. To Danny’s right are two upright boards with the case file spread across them. Danny’s clicking away at the computer while it syncs up with the one at Five-0 headquarters. The two detectives assigned to the case exchange a look over his head at Kono’s cheerful voice.

“Hey Kono, Chin with you?” Danny can’t help the smile of amusement that crosses his face when Spinelli mouths ‘Chin?’ at Greene.

“I’m here, brah,” says Chin. He’s layered the Hawaii into his voice because he knows that Danny is not alone. Chin Ho knows all.

Danny finally gets the video connection working, and  Chin and Kono pop up on the screen. Kono waves. “Guys, these are detectives Spinelli and Greene, it’s their case,” Danny introduces, then turns to the two detectives, “This is Lieutenant Chin Ho Kelly and Officer Kono Kalakawa.”

Greetings are exchanged all around, and then Danny notices something. Or doesn’t notice something. His eyes narrow suspiciously, “Where’s Steve?”

Chin rolls his eyes, “You called ten hours ago, where do you think he is?”

“Oh, for,” Danny huffs, then cuts himself off. “Did he fly civilian or military?”

“Military,” Kono offers cheerfully. “You’ll have to confiscate the grenades.”

This time it’s Greene that mouths ‘Grenades?’ at Spinelli.

Danny sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose.

*

“I swear to god, Steven,” Danny is ranting when they enter the precinct nearly eight hours later. They’re following Spinelli, who is escorting their suspect through the door with a scowl and a torn jacket. Greene is bringing up the rear with a bloody handkerchief pressed to the side of his head.

They are all covered in soot.

“He was pointing a gun at you, Danny,” Steve says stubbornly.

“And that means you had to blow him up?” Danny demands.

“Yes.”

Danny throws his hands in the air, exasperated, “Grenades. All of them. Now.”

Steve’s mouth thins with stubbornness and he crosses his arms. Spinelli forces the suspect into the chair next to his desk and removes his jacket. Greene uses the reflection in the glass to one of the interrogation rooms to check out the cut on his head.

“Now,” Danny repeats. He snaps his fingers and points at the desk. Steve caves under the pressure of his glare and empties the pockets of his cargo pants. One, two, three, four grenades clatter to the desktop. “A little excessive, don’t you think?” Danny asks.

“No,” Steve says.

The precinct is suspiciously quiet. Everyone is silent and watching the two men arguing over a pile of live grenades. The silence has a shocked feel to it. It’s not everyday someone walks in carrying grenades in their pockets like it’s not unusual. The suspect sitting next to the desk seems to have just realized exactly how lucky he is to be alive.

He leans away from the pile of explosives. Spinelli doesn’t stop him.

“We’ve had this conversation,” Danny says.

Spinelli and Greene exchange another look. They’ve had this conversation? If anything, Steve’s frown gets even more stubborn.

“You can’t carry live grenades in public. You can’t keep them in the glove compartment of my car, and you really need to stop using them to blow holes in doors.”

“Grenades are useful, Danny,” Steve tells him. “And we don’t have time to stop and wait for backup every time.”

“Procedure!” Danny half-yells with the ring of an old argument.

The suspect forgets his sense of self-preservation for a moment. Just long enough to ask: “How long have you guys been married?”

Two laser intense stares focus in on him, freezing him in place. One blue, one green. “Did I ask you to butt in?” Danny demands. The suspect shrinks in his seat.

“Danno -” Steve begins, but Danny raises a hand, effectively silencing him.

“Case now,” he tells his partner, “argue later.”

“Yes, dear,” Steve says, smiling. It earns him a sharp look, but the blond is smiling when it happens, so Steve counts it as a win.

“I hate you,” Danny offers, tone conversational.

Steve grins, “I love you, too, Danny.”

Danny grins briefly back at him, and then both men turn back to the suspect as one. The suspect swallows.


	51. All I Want (it sneaks up on you)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve contemplates the road that brought him here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All I Want - Deanna Johnson (Kodaline cover)

**All I Want**

(mcdanno, it sneaks up on you,  [ all i want - deanna johnson - kodaline cover ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0m7eiXTP0FQ) )

 

_ “So you brought out the best of me, _

_ A part of me I’ve never seen. _

_ You took my soul and wiped it clean. _

_ Our love was made for movie screens…” _

 

Steve settles a little deeper back into his chair on the lanai. There is a little smile playing around the edges of his mouth. There is a deep feeling of contentment washing through him. For the first time in what feels like forever (it’s years, he knows that), he’s happy; and he’s not surprised by the feeling.

It had snuck up on him, really. Happiness was a feeling so foreign to him that he was more comfortable with the feeling of being shot. It had creeped in around the edges of his awareness. When he’d finally noticed it, it had been too late, and he’d panicked.

Panicked and run.

He hadn’t been prepared to love someone as much as he loves Danny. He certainly hadn’t been prepared for Danny to love him back just as much. His first instinct had been to prevent the pain (inevitable, he knew it) by retreating. So he had done so. Forcing a wall between himself and his partner had been difficult. Keeping him at arm's length even more so.

Especially since Danny had immediately seen what he was doing. Danny didn’t  _ want  _ to be kept at arm’s length, thank you.

For all his bluster, Danny can actually be the patient sort. In his way. He had barrelled directly into Steve’s wall, yelling all the while, and then told him to  _ think  _ before he did something to lose what they were building. Then Danny had stepped aside and waited.

Steve had contemplated returning to active duty to get away from everything he was feeling. The Navy was what he knew, and he knew the only danger he’d be in there was the physical kind… But he had also learned in the last few years that ignoring things usually had them coming back to bite you in the ass. Hard.

So Steve had stayed.

Slowly Steve had opened up again. Treating each new engagement with caution. Danny had patiently guided him through the emotional minefield that was relationships. Had allowed him time to analyze and adjust course with every step they took. Had been there to either keep silent or offer encouragement where Steve needed it.

Danny had proven to be capable of the patience of a saint.

The end result, Steve found, was amazing.

Here Steve was, at the end of a long road, happier than he could ever remember being. He’s sitting on a chair in front of his house (a house no longer devoid of life) watching his family build a sandcastle. His family. The grin that crosses his face at that thought is wide and unavoidable. His family.

Danny is seated in the sand wearing swim trunks and a t-shirt. A year ago, Steve wouldn’t have believed that Danny owned swim trunks. Yet, here he is, looking right at home. His feet have been buried and integrated into the outer wall of the castle/fortress that Grace is building. It’s a beloved sight.

Grace. Grace, who Danny trusts Steve with implicitly, is filling a bucket with shells along the waterline to decorate the castle with. Steve didn’t think he could love anyone more than he loves Danny; but there she is in her bright blue swim suit.

When Steve had confessed his feelings about Grace to Danny, he hadn’t expected him to grin and tell Steve that  _ of course _ he loves Grace the most. That’s how parents are supposed to feel about their kids.

Parent. Steve’s a parent. He has a family.

Steve grins the second he realizes that Grace has spotted him. He’s been gone the last week helping Mary and Joan move. She screams his name and abandons her task, dashing up the stretch of beach toward him.

He takes it as his cue to stop contemplating how he got here and just enjoy it.

He stands up and meets her halfway; swinging her up into his arms, bucket and all. They hug for a long time. Grace asks about Aunt Mary and baby Joan in between telling him how much she missed him and how happy she is that he’s home. Steve answers her questions as he walks them over to Danny and the sand castle.

“Welcome home, babe,” Danny says, shielding his eyes and grinning up at them.

Steve sits them down next to the blond, leaning over to kiss him just because he can. “Hey,” he replies with a smile that he knows is love struck and silly.

“Have a good trip?” Danny asks as Grace begins to sort her shells and decorate the castle.

“Eh,” Steve shrugs. It was nice to see his sister, but he’s too tall to ever feel comfortable flying commercial.

Danny chuckles. He gets it, gets Steve. He bumps their shoulders together, “Welcome home.”

Steve grins and bumps back.

Home is the best (and only) place he wants to be.


	52. Way Down We Go (selkie!steve)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny captures himself a Selkie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Way Down We Go - Kaleo
> 
> This one was… Satisfying to write.

**Way Down We Go**

(mcdanno, selkie!steve, [ way down we go - kaleo ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlCZ-DakfyE))

 

_“You let your feet run wild_

_Time has come as we all oh, go down_

_Yeah but for the fall oh, my_

_Do you dare to look him in the eyes?..”_

 

The air smells like the ocean and hibiscus. Waves crash along the shore, foam lapping at his toes and sinking them into the sand. The night is still, with nought a breeze. It’s only soundtrack the crashing of the waves and the night bugs. Overhead, the sky is clear and studded with bright stars. The moon is bright, waxing and nearly full.

He loves nights like these. It’s late enough that all the neighbors lights are out, and the dark shapes of the houses seem distant and removed. It’s just him and the ocean, watching, waiting. Nights like this there’s always a feeling of bated breath, of anticipation.

Will he come? Will he emerge from the water, shimmering in a haze of magic as he sheds his skin and comes ashore? Or will Danny be left waiting? Will he be left to wonder if it’s all been a dream?

It always feels like a dream in the daylight. Like some kind of wonderful, heartbreaking dream. How can it possibly be real when the entirety of the world decries the existence of real magic? When it states emphatically that _it isn’t real_! It can’t be.

But in the dark of the night, how can it _not_ be anything other than real?

A splashing sound interrupts the crashing of the waves. Danny turns to scan the water, looking for the disturbance. There. Just there, cutting through the surf is a dark shape. Danny takes a couple of steps into the water, wanting to meet it halfway, but knowing he should wait. That he has to wait.

At this distance, it’s just a small, dark shape; but Danny knows that if it were day, all he would see is a seal. A swift, graceful seal, and think nothing of it. But it isn’t daylight, and Danny knows better than to think that there is anything ordinary about that seal.

Anticipation wells up within him the closer it gets to shore. He knows what it is. What _he_ is. Danny did his research after their first encounter. He knows what he is. _Selkie._ He never dares to say it out loud. Danny knows what he is, could trap him if he wanted, make him stay. But what kind of love would that be if he had no choice? Not any right kind at all. Danny knows how to trap him, and chooses not to.

Steven is as wild and free as the ocean. It’s one of the things that Danny loves best about him.

The Selkie reaches the shore, and he rises, shedding his skin as he wades toward Danny. He sheds droplets of water that sparkle like diamonds in the moonlight, his seal skin skating over the water behind him.

Tall and lean and looking at Danny in a way that makes his breath catch in his throat and his heart race. Danny wants to race out to meet him, but he knows that he needs to wait. That’s how this works. Steven walks out of the water and throws himself into Danny’s arms, breathless and joyous.

And that fur, that skin that is so precious, that means the difference between Steve’s freedom or captivity, is flung aside into the sand in favor of Danny.

Danny returns the embrace with equal fervor. Kisses the naked man in his arms like it’s the only thing keeping him from drowning. He knows that come morning, Steve will leave. He will return to the ocean and Danny will continue to wait for another night like this one. He knows it will hurt, that his heart will break a little at their parting. He lets Steve walk him back onto the sand anyway. He guides the Selkie toward the blanket he’d laid out under the threes at the edge of the sand and guides him down onto it.

He returns every kiss. Memorizes his face, the look in his eyes. Commits every gasp and cry to memory. Falls just a little bit more in love.

All the while that skin, that precious, precious skin, lies forgotten in the sand, the waves reaching up with searching fingers to touch it.

*

Dawn is coming. Faint touches of predawn gray touching the horizon. Steve is standing by the water, his seal skin draped over his arm as his eyes look out over the sea.

He feels peaceful. Content.

For the first time in his life, the call of the sea is not the strongest pull he feels. His world has realigned to revolve around the man lying on the blanket behind him. Danny loves him, and his heart soars with joy at the thought.

Danny loves him as he is, unfettered and free. Danny has never tried to take his skin from him, though he knows the other man wants to. He wants to make him stay, but he doesn't want to trap him. Steve’s heart beats fast in his chest at the idea that Danny loves him enough to let him be free.

But is it really captivity if he _wants_ to stay?

The man on the blanket behind him stirs, waking. There’s a pause in the movement, and then the sound of footsteps. Steve turns to watch him walk out to meet him. His heart hammers in his chest, and he aches to stay, but he can’t. Not unless Danny takes his skin from him. That’s how it works, Steve cannot give his skin, it must be taken.

When the blond reaches him, he leans down for a kiss. It lingers for a moment, soft like the morning light. When they part, Steve touches his forehead to Danny’s.

“You have to go,” Danny murmurs, his tone unhappy.

Steve makes an agreeing noise, and then draws away from him. They gaze at each other for a minute, and then Steve speaks, “I need you to do something for me.”

“Anything,” Danny replies.

Steve holds out his skin, “I need you to take this from me.”

Danny sucks in a sharp breath, “Steven…”

Steve shakes his head, “No. No. I want to stay here, with you -” another sharp inhale “-but I _can’t_ unless you take this. I can’t stay unless you _take_ it.”

“But you want to,” Danny says, examining his face.

“I want to,” Steve confirms. “My heart is here with you now, the rest of me should be too.”

Danny lunges forward, drawing Steve into a desperate kiss. Steve returns it equally until Danny draws away. He rests his hand on Steve’s face, gazes into his eyes and says: “I love you, too.”

Then he uses his other hand and _takes_ Steve’s skin from him.

Something surges through him. It binds him tightly to the man holding his skin. Makes it so that Steve cannot leave, cannot return to the sea. His heart soars. Danny wants him. Wants him enough to keep his skin. Danny will keep it safe, protected. He will never hide it from Steve, because he won’t keep Steve if he doesn’t want to be kept. Steve will never try to take it back, he knows his skin is safe with Danny.

He is a Selkie that wants to be kept from the sea. His skin is captured, and the magic prickles his skin, but he still feels free.

The two men wrap their arms around each other, and together, they watch the sun rise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And then the neighbors were greeted by the sight of two naked men on the beach that morning. ;P


	53. I'm A Poached Egg (matchmaking rabbits)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grace has an accomplice, the incredible matchmaking Mr. Hoppy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm A Poached Egg (Without Toast) - Ella Fitzgerald
> 
> Okay, so two things really. I adore this song to absolutely no end. I first heard it on that one episode of ER and tracked it down. It's originally from the movie "Kiss Me, Stupid" which is also fabulous. I dare you to not feel kinda goofy after listening to it - and also to not be singing along.
> 
> Second, matchmaking rabbit. I don't know. I really don't. I wanted silly Grace shenanigans as she tried to get them together, and that somehow evolved into fluffy rabbit feels. I do not apologize. At all.

**I’m A Poached Egg**

(mcdanno, matchmaking bunny,  [ i’m a poached egg - ella fitzgerald ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipRXXl_lpCE) )

 

_ “I’m a poached egg without a piece of toast, _

_ Yorkshire pudding without a beef to roast, _

_ I’m a haunted house that hasn’t got a ghost, _

_ When I’m without you…” _

 

“Uh, what’s with the rabbit?”

Grace grins to herself at the question. Steve looks completely baffled, and that’s exactly what she wants. She has a mission this weekend, and Mr. Hoppy is her co-pilot. She and Danno are spending her three day weekend at home with Steve, and the ten year old has a plan.

It’s a good one, too.

“This is Mr. Hoppy,” Grace says brightly. She bends over and extracts her rabbit from his carrier. She turns, setting her biggest eyes on the baffled man on the sofa. “I couldn’t leave him all alone! Ho could die!”

“Uh,” Steve says, but takes the rabbit when Grace thrusts him into his arms. He settles the rabbit onto his lap and starts absently petting it as Grace sits down next to him and snuggles into his side. “What about your Mom? And - and Stan?”

“They went away for the weekend.” Grace tells him. She reaches over to pet Mr. Hoppy too, and smiles when Steve wraps his arm around her. “So it’s just you, me, Danno and Mr. Hoppy.”

“Oh, okay,” Steve says. His expression is bemused, but the crease between his eyebrows betrays the fact that he’s already planning out how to rabbit-proof the house.

This is how Danny finds then when he makes it into the house with their bags. His small, beautiful daughter sitting on the couch, absolutely dwarfed by the Navy Seal at her side, both of them petting a gray rabbit.

“Daddy?” Grace asks softly.

Danny freezes in shock when Steve answers, because this is obviously not the first time Grace has called him that. “Yes, Gracie?”

“Can we have pizza for dinner?”

“Yeah, okay.”

Danny turns to take the luggage upstairs. He is in so much trouble. His daughter is calling his partner Daddy; and his partner doesn’t seem to mind. Neither does Danny, for that matter. He is so screwed.

*

Mr. Hoppy, as it turns out, is an escape artist. Steve rigs up a makeshift corral for the rabbit in the corner of the living room. He lays down old newspapers and uses shelves and rocks to brace them for the walls. Both Steve and Danny agree that it will do until they can get proper supplies from the pet store. Grace puts Mr. Hoppy in it, and goes to eat pizza and watch Inside Out* and listen to Danny complain about fruit on pizza. Mr. Hoppy promptly escapes thirty minutes into the movie.

One minute Steve is minding his own business, convincing himself he’s  _ not  _ going to cry this time; and the next he’s wearing a single bunny slipper. He eyeballs the rabbit draped over his foot and comes to two conclusions just as Sadness and Joy are sucked up a tube on the screen. 1) Mr. Hoppy is incredibly soft, and he doesn’t think he minds the whole pet thing; and 2) he is in so much trouble if he’s thinking that.

Grace gets up to sit on the sofa as soon as she’s done eating, and Steve takes the opportunity to bend over and retrieve the rabbit. He sits back, settling Mr. Hoppy on his lap.

“Really, babe?” Danny asks.

“You got Gracie,” Steve retorts, only vaguely sheepish.

And yeah, okay, so Grace is snuggled into Danny’s side. She’s curled up under the throw Steve’s grandmother had crocheted and makes its home on the back of the sofa. Grace looks between them for a few seconds, then giggles and returns to the movie.

“You’re ridiculous,” Danny tells him fondly.

“You love me,” Steve replies, smiling.

“God knows why,” Danny says.

*

“Danny? Wha -”

“Budge over,” Danny mutters grumpily. Steve shuffles over in bed as Danny crawls in with him. “Stupid rabbit.”

“What?” Steve mumbles, confused.

Danny grabs Steve’s arm and drags it over him. Steve takes the hint and spoons up behind Danny. “Stupid rabbit decided it needed to eat right next to my head,” Danny grumps.

Steve huffs a breath against the back of Danny’s neck. It’s as close to laughter as he gets when he’s mostly asleep. “Go to sleep,” he mumbles into the skin of Danny’s neck.

Danny’s response is an incoherent slur consisting of two consonants and a grunt.

They sleep.

*

Grace nudges the door to the master bedroom open. Her arms are full of Mr. Hoppy. She grins at the sight that greets her. Danny and Steve are curled up together. Danny his snoring just a little, and Steve has buried his face into the crook between Danny’s shoulder at the pillow.

“Good job, Special Agent Hoppy,” she whispers to the floppy eared being in her arms.

She walks over to the bed and sets Mr. Hoppy on the mattress. The rabbit takes that as his cue to wander up the duvet and make himself comfortable on an unused pillow. Grace crawls up onto the bed after her rabbit. She prods at Danny until he grunts and rolls over. It leaves just enough space between him and Steve for Grace to settle in between them.

“No rabbits in bed,” Steve mumbles to the pillowcase, and bundles Grace up in his arms, making her giggle.

“No rabbits,” Danny agrees, rolling over to wrap his arm around Grace as well.

“Too late,” Grace giggles, and pulls the blanket up over her head.

Danny groans at the thought that there’s an animal in the bed with them (and he doesn’t mean the neanderthal kind). Steve pats sleepily at his side, “We’ll wash the sheets.”

“Yeah, okay."

On his pillow, Mr. Hoppy surveys his humans, completely nonplussed. Mission accomplished indeed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Inside Out - I am aware that this movie wasn't out when Grace was ten canonically, but I'm taking artistic license because I cried so hard, and have cried every single time since. So there.


	54. Gasoline (mad max!au part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Mad Max style AU.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gasoline - Halsey
> 
> So apparently I've been wanting to do a Mad Max style AU? I did not know this, but I'm kind of satisfied. Also APPARENTLY I LIKE TO WORLD BUILD? I DID NOT KNOW THIS ABOUT MYSELF?

**Gasoline**

(mcdanno, mad max!au,  [ gasoline - halsey ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRHNi3QfFlE) )

 

_ “Are you deranged like me? Are you strange like me? _

_ Lighting matches just to swallow up the flame like me? _

_ Do you call yourself a fucking hurricane like me? _

_ Pointing fingers ‘cause you’ll never take the blame like me?..” _

 

The Badlands are harsh. The sun beats down from overhead like its’ only goal is to incinerate you. Dry, cracked earth and overheated rocks. There’s nothing out there but sand and salt and far off mountains. Nothing there to kill you except the sun and other people.

The Badlands are safer. They are not the Crags.

The Crags, they say, used to be covered in water. Shelf after shelf of craggy cliffs, miles deep (and mountainous sometimes) and expansive. Separated by stretches of flat lands. If you aren’t careful, you can wander into the Crags and still believe that you’re in the Badlands for days. Until you reach the first shelf and realize you’re already dead. You don’t have supplies enough to make it back, and continuing means death.

There is nothing in the Crags except bones and death and teeth.

They say if you keep going down you’ll reach the center of the earth. A place so hot it’ll melt your bones. Most people would call that Hell. They say that by the time you reach it, you won’t be human anymore. Who can be after fighting their way through the monsters in the Crags?

They say the monsters used to swim, back when the Crags were covered in water. Even when they didn’t have legs and claws, their teeth were just as big. Maybe it’s a myth, like water over everything. Maybe it’s not. No one cares about what the monsters  _ were _ , they just care what they  _ are _ .

Deadly.

Hawi stands in the center of the Crags, they say. Small oasi connected by burning salt flats. If you go out too far, you’ll fall off the shelf. The Crags are always in sight. Looming and ominous. No matter where you are, you can hear the whispers and the howling at night.

In Hawi you don’t have to fight your way to the bottom of the Crags to get to hell. No, here, hell rises up to greet you. The mountain is a shadow of heat haze and molten rock. People say, why try to fight your way to hell when you already live next door?

The Old City is abandoned. Crumbling to dust and haunted by ghosts and monsters. No one living remembers the glory it must have been.

At night, the monsters emerge from the Crags and the Old City. Don’t go out at night or you’ll get eaten. Never wander past the perimeter after dusk. Never wander past the established routes between oasi, you might fall off the shelf.

Work together to survive. This is the only way to live now is by working together. Alone is death. Alone means no one to watch your back and help fight off the monsters.

Never go out at night.

Work together.

Trust the Guard.

The Guard is safety. They set and watch the perimeter. They guide and guard the roads. They fight the monsters and the dangerous loners. The Guard is made entirely of warriors, and they have the scars to prove it. They give their lives to protect the people, and in return, the people provide for them. Food, clothing, shelter.

This is the way of Hawi.

Most people of the Badlands don’t know about the oasi that exist amid the Crags. Hawi is not the only one of its kind. The flats stretch from oasi to oasi, winding through the Crags. Running the roads is perilous, but trade amongst the oasi is a necessity.

They say that when the Crags were covered in water, there were more oasi than could reliably be counted.

Because of the roads and the flats, it is not impossible for people from the Badlands to eventually find their way to Hawi. The further you get into the Crags, the less you have to worry about other people. You just have to worry about the monsters.

Monsters are creatures of instinct. Humans  _ think _ .

They are two different kinds of dangerous.

Monsters don’t scare Danny nearly as much as humans do.

Danny’s people were nomads. Always moving. Moving meant that bigger communities had a harder time tracking them down to take what they had. A lot of people these days live on the road like that.

Eventually though, luck runs out. It gets sucked up by the sun, just like everything else.

The attack is swift. Sudden. They attack at night, using stealth and darkness to steal into the camp. By the time the alarm is raised it’s already too late. The only thing Danny can do is hide Grace and kill as many as he can.

He fights until a blow to the head turns his world black.

The sun is beating down, bright and burning before he wakes. There are bodies everywhere. Most of the cars are gone, along with most of the supplies. He buries Rachel between her mother and his sister. Scavenges whatever he can to get them through. Matty is wounded, but he manages to get one of the cars running. Clara distracts Grace from the dead.

They leave the next morning.

They go west. West until the language people speak changes, then they go south. They keep going until the language changes again.

In this part of the world rumors and stories abound. This close to the Crags means monsters venturing toward the settlements in search of a meal every now and then. Danny hears the word ‘oasi’ for the first time four months after the attack while he helps the little settlement they are staying in recover from a night raid by bandits.

Safe, green places where humans live in peace? They can’t be real… can they?

Japa is small. Sloping hills set into the waste. Danny doesn’t believe the stories until they reach it. It’s been over a year since the attack. Clara is white haired, her face lined. Matty’s leg had to be cut off a month after the attack. He’s fast on his crutch now. Grace is turning out to be quite the black thumb. It takes a while until the people trust them enough to share their jealously guarded secret.

Japa is an oasi.

In fact, it’s the biggest one there is.

It doesn’t take long for Danny to decide that trading humans for monsters is worth it. He wants his family to feel safe… At least safe from the kind of people that want to prey upon them. Monsters eat, humans take. After all, one man traveling with a kid, a cripple and an old woman certainly seem like easy pickings.

The first time they hear about Hawi, about how it’s the farthest oasi. About how close it is to the center of the earth that magma flows up from it. About how far out in the Crags it is that it might as well be another world, Clara looks at her sons and says: “We should go there.”

Danny trades their car for something bigger. The truck has seen better days, and goes through guzzoline like nothing else, but it’s armored. It’s armored and big enough for them to sleep in it at night. It will help protect them from the monsters that haunt the Crags. Clara gives her last bit of pretty jewelry to Matty, who takes it and uses it to track down and purchase a map.

It’s unfinished and vague, but it gives them a general idea of what’s out there and where they need to go.

They travel for weeks. Whenever they reach the next oasi, they trade or work for whatever supplies they can get. The map is nearly useless, but the people are willing enough to point them in the right direction. They get a lot of free advice alongside the directions:

_ “Stay on the road, don’t wanna fall off the shelf.” _

_ “Don’t travel at night. That’s when the monsters come.” _

_ Hawi’s that way. Watch out for the Guard!” _

_ “Keep watch for the Guard. Won’t get near Hawi without their say so.” _

The Guard is equal parts terrifying and amazing. The idea that the people who live in Hawi are protected by warriors that sound nearly as fierce as the monsters they fight is stunning. Hawi doesn’t get attacked by humans, and it’s apparently protected from the monsters.

It’s the perfect place for Grace.

They’re two weeks north and east of the last oasi when it happens. Four gigantic gray shapes with razor sharp claws and too many teeth attack their makeshift camp. Danny has killed monsters before. Clara has become a crack shot, and Matty has an affinity for explosives. With them at his back he can take a monster.

But he’s never had to face more than one at time before.

They’re losing. They’re all going to die.

And then the air ignites.

One of the creatures goes down with a screeching cry that rattles Danny’s bones. With the  _ whump whump _ of rockets hitting flesh, it careens over the edge of the shelf in a spiral of death and fire. A second monster is cut nearly in half by gunfire from a large caliber machine gun.

The the war rig emerges from the darkness.

It’s a huge black beast of war machine. It plows directly into a third creature, impaling it on the spikes set into the front. Incendiary spears strike it from above, and its’ death throes are a roar. Behind the war rig come two smaller vehicles. They circle the remaining monster, using gunfire and taunts to draw it away from the overturned truck where Danny and his family are.

The door of the war rig opens and a man jumps down. He’s tall, and he’s got a shotgun in his hands. His face in the firelight is grim and focused. There is grease black over the upper half of his face.

Danny knows an imperator when he sees one.

Danny reloads his shotgun and steps out from his cover. He stops next to the imperator, firing in time with him. The final monster goes down with a roar over the report of many weapons. Silence falls and flames leap toward the sky. Then one of the black clad warriors that came in on the rig approaches Danny.

He’s tall (not as tall as the imperator), lean, with dark hair and a soothing aura. His grin is genuine when he offers in. “Aloha,” he tells Danny. “Welcome to Hawi, friend.”

Danny can’t help the bark of laughter that escapes him. He shakes the hand that is offered, “Thanks for the help.”

“It’s what we do,” the man says, and then he introduces himself. “I’m Chin. That’s Kono. That’s Commander McGarrett.”

Danny meets hazel eyes head on as the other soldiers help Clara, Matty and Grace out of the overturned truck. He doesn’t know what a ‘Commander’ is, but boots to bullets that man is an imperator. Grace tucks herself under Danny’s arm, and he holds the Commander’s intense gaze as he says:

“I’m Danny, and this is Grace.”


	55. Nothing Left (deserving)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny and Steve and I love you's.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing Left - Kygo feat. Will Heard

**Nothing Left**

(mcdanno, deserving,  [ nothing left - kygo feat will heard ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuzVOZqDuh0) )

 

_ “Tell me that you need me _

_ To help you find a way _

_ Through all of this madness _

_ Can I be your light of day?..” _

 

Fingers brush across sun-warmed skin. They trace freckles across shoulders and down the dip of a spine. They are large hands, calloused and work-toughened. They are gentle hands, caressing with reverence and care. Danny loves these hands.

These are hands capable of great feats. They can kill and they can defend. They are capable of holding onto what Danny love most in the world with infinite care. These are hands that could crush Danny’s world, but instead cradle it close protectively.

These hands and the man attached to them.

Lips press against his shoulder, skirting kisses along the muscles. Danny feels worshipped at the press of those lips. Wanted and loved in a way he hasn’t felt in a long time.

Danny turns his head to look at the man. His hair is mussed, a little on the disorderly, too-long side. His eyes are heavy with sleep and adoration. A tiny smile is flirting with the corners of his lips. He’s beautiful, and he’s Danny’s.

“Hey,” Danny says softly, not wanting to break the moment and see that expression vanish. Steve’s bright green-hazel eyes flicker up to his face for a moment, then retreat.

Danny wishes that Steve believed he deserves to be happy. Wishes that Steve believed that Danny wouldn’t vanish like so much mist. Wishes that Steve doesn’t spend a lot of his time wondering if he’s dreaming, and then praying he won’t wake up.

Danny doesn’t move. Moving will make Steve retreat. Instead he watches Steve run his fingers up and down his arm. Watches Steve watch the motion and memorize every millimeter of Danny’s skin. Steve leans down and forward, leaving kisses in the wake of his fingers.

Eventually Danny can’t hold still anymore. He slowly maneuvers from his stomach onto his side and wraps his arm around Steve. Steve adjusts to the new position easily. Presses in close and cards fingers through the hair on Danny’s chest. Danny slides his hand up to cradle Steve’s jaw. Steve leans into it, his eyes fluttering shut. Those ridiculous eyelashes touching skin.

“Hey,” Danny murmurs, then takes advantage of those closed eyes to press a kiss to Steve’s lips.

Steve’s smile widens. His eyes remain closed.

Oh, how Danny loves this man.

“Hey,” Danny says for the third time. “So, I think we should just stay here all day.”

“We should?” Steve asks, voice teasing.

“Yep,” Danny says, and then decides that the quiet part of their day is over. He pushes Steve over onto his back and rolls on top of him.

Steve laughs, and isn’t that a glorious sound?

They trade a few kisses, taking their time.

“So, now you’ve got me at your mercy, what are you going to do with me?” Steve wonders, a playful glint in his eyes.

“Oh,” Danny says, sliding a hand across Steve’s chest, “I’ve got a few ideas.”

Steve raises his eyebrows, “Like what?”

“Oh, unspeakable things,” Danny says conversationally, like he’s addressing the weather. “Filthy, unspeakable things.”

Steve’s grin widens, just this side of goofy, “Oh, really?”

“Mhm,” Danny murmurs into the skin of Steve’s clavicle. “And then I plan to love you.”

“Do you?” Steve asks, quiet, voice breathless.   


Danny looks up, catches Steve’s gaze and says with absolute conviction: “Yes. I’m going to love you forever. An eternity. Eons even.”

Steve looks like he’s had the breath punched out of him. His eyes are soft when he says: “That’s a long time.”

“It is,” Danny agrees with a nod. “But it won’t ever be enough.”

“Danny.”

Danny smiles gently at him, “You gonna love me forever, too, babe?”

Steve rolls them over. Presses Danny gently into the mattress. Whispers “Always,” reverently. Peppers kisses across the blond’s face, “Always.”

“Good,” Danny says, returning the embrace with fervor.

Steve starts to murmur I love you’s into his skin in between kisses. He doesn’t seem to be aware that he’s doing it.

Danny doesn’t mind. I’n fact, he returns the favor.


	56. Little Wonders (faeries)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which while investigating a series of murders, Danny comes across evidence that faeries are real. Steve is a Fairy. Chin is a Water Spirit. Danny ends up looking like an arts and crafts reject (thanks Steve), and Steve somehow, still ends up going home with Danny at the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little Wonder - Rob Thomas
> 
> So, this was an excuse to turn Steve into a Faery. And it turns out, that apparently he's a badass faery? Also, zen Water Spirit Chin because yes. Just Yes.
> 
> Also, I got to use the word hirsute unironically in fic, that makes me happy.

**Little Wonders**

(mcdanno, faeries, [ little wonders - rob thomas ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Baqhrg-MuE))

 

_Let it slide,_

_Let your troubles fall behind you_

_Let it shine,_

_Until you feel it all around you_

_And I don’t mind,_

_If it’s me you need to turn to_

_We’ll get by,_

_It’s the heart that really matters in the end…”_

 

The case is a weird one. Superstition, magic and faeries. Or, at least, victims that lived their lives like they believed they were faeries. Danny doesn’t judge, his own life is complicated enough. Besides, what someone does behind their own doors is not his business. Until it is. Then it’s just weird shit.

They’ve got four victims. Three women and one man, all in their mid to late twenties. Their appearances are all different. Hair and eye color vary. No, what seems to be have attracted their killer wasn’t their looks. Each of the victims were part of the same community. A community that believed in magic, fairy tales and monsters.

Danny had spoken to an extremely hirsute man who believes himself to be a werewolf just the day before, after the fourth victim had been identified. Said werewolf lived across the hall, and hadn’t heard or smelt anything strange. Danny’s partner, Robert Rosenthaul, hadn’t had the pleasure of meeting the werewolf neighbor. He’d been two doors down making the acquaintance of the leprechaun in shamrock boxers and hawaiian shirt.

That one would stay with him, and he’d only gotten a glimpse.

All of the victims had lived their lives peacefully, even if they did truly believe that they were faeries. Their neighbors and friends hadn’t had anything bad to say about them beyond the misplacing of shiny objects and an excess of baked goods in one case. It was all dismissed as the generalities of faeries. Danny had been on the receiving end of a lecture about how faeries never sweep up after themselves when they’re comfortable; leaving all that glittery dust everywhere. It’s inconsiderate.

Each of the victims had had elaborate tattoos across their backs of fairy wings. At least, that’s what everyone was telling them. Danny and Rob were taking them at their word. Each victim had been skinned, the elaborate wing tattoos removed from their backs before they were dumped.

The only conclusion seemed to be that the killer believed they were hunting actual faeries and was taking their wings as trophies.

Danny hopes that they were dead before they were skinned.

Danny sits back with a sigh and runs a hand down his face. This case is right up there at the top of his weird-o-meter. It’s New Jersey. Nothing this strange ever happened in Newark. You had to go up to Jersey City or cross the river into New York. Sure, they’ve got the Jersey Devil, but that’s about it.

“Stop thinking about it,” Rob advises from the desk across from him. His eyes are a little red and he’s got a fistfull of photographs. “It’ll only make your head hurt worse.”

Danny knows but, “I can’t help it. I keep hearing Grace in my head telling me: See, Danno, faeries are _real_.”

Rob snorts, “And now I’m grateful that all my boys care about is hockey and which one of them hits the hardest.”

“Uh huh,” says Danny.

Rob tosses the photos across to him, “Here, you look at these for a while, I’m getting coffee.”

Danny tells him to get him a cup as he gathers up the photos. It’s the crime scene photos. All four victims had been found in the woods. Aside from the dead bodies, the pictures are actually quite lovely. It’s spring, so everything is green and blooming. Hell, there’s even a ring of mushrooms in the one photo.

Wait. Ring of mushrooms.

Isn’t there something about fairy rings in all the lore?

Danny flips through the photos, studying them carefully. Yes, there. He lays out four of them side by side across his desk. There’s a fairy ring of mushrooms, each one perfectly circular, in each photograph. That can’t be a coincidence. He reaches for the mouse and opens his browser, typing ‘fairy rings’ into the search bar.

By the time Rob comes back, Danny is convinced that it’s not a coincidence.

*

When the fifth fairy goes missing that night, it gets reported immediately. Danny and Rob have been banging on doors for a over a week, and it’s got the neighborhood spooked. Mary Alice McPhee vanishes from work, and her frantic roommate Jenny (a self-proclaimed witch) calls when midnight hits and she’s not home.

Danny and Rob question Mary Alice’s coworkers, her roommate and anyone they can find on her usual route. Then they head out into the woods to look for a fairy ring. Rob grumbles, but he’s been partners with Danny long enough to trust Danny’s gut.

According to the lore, fairy rings are gateways to the fairy realm. Dangerous for humans, but Danny doesn’t see why someone who believes they’re a fairy wouldn’t run for one when they’re in danger. What better way to escape a human that to go where a human shouldn’t be able to?

So they head out into the woods with a map marked with each of the crime scenes. Both detectives agree that the killer isn’t likely to visit the same spot twice. Especially if it’s the victim choosing the place. A fairy wouldn’t run to a place where they knew another fairy had been killed.

The sun is starting to head for the western horizon. It’s way past lunch time, but still too early for dinner. The partners are within shouting distance, if not easy visual distance. The woods are dense. Danny feels a little silly, out here looking for rings of mushrooms. He’s starting to think that maybe they should call it a day when he stumbles across it.

It’s a very large ring, nearly ten feet across. The mushrooms are just generic white capped mushrooms. He wouldn’t eat them, because he’s not a fungus guy and couldn’t tell you what kind they are, but they’re decent looking mushrooms. The ring dominates the little clearing, so Danny isn’t surprised that Mary Alice is partly in the ring. It’s too big to not be part of the crime scene this time.

Mary Alice is sprawled on her front, staring sightlessly at the trees. Her legs are sprawled in the ring, her torso outside of it. Her back is missing all of it’s skin. Danny feels a familiar punch of sadness that they couldn’t save her.

“What the hell are you doing?!” Danny demands once he’s taken in the rest of the scene.

There is a very tall man crouched next to Mary Alice. He’s tall enough that he looks tall even crouched as he is. He’s wearing a long, dark blue coat over what looks like some kind of body armor. When he looks up at Danny with piercing green eyes, Danny has to shake his head.

There is no way that man’s eyes were glowing. There’s no way his cheekbones were that sharp. No way there was a point to the ears framed by dark hair trimmed with military precision.

“Don’t think about it too hard,” the man advises, standing up. “It’ll only make it worse.”

The man’s got a sword strapped to his side and a huge bow in one hand. Danny can’t think about how they look like they weren’t made by men, so he demands: “The hell are you talking about?”

The man grins, and Danny doesn’t see pointed teeth, _he doesn’t_. “My name is Commander Steven McGarrett, and I’ll be taking over from here.”

Danny takes the offered identification as Rob comes crashing through the underbrush, drawn by Danny’s loud demands. It’s a perfectly legitimate badge declaring him as a special consultant for the FBI. Danny hands the ID to Rob, and glares at the man as he steps away from the ring of mushrooms. Then he has to blink, because suddenly that weird body armor looks like perfectly normal cargo pants and shirt. The sword looks like a standard issue sig sauer, and the bow is a rifle case that has been slung over a shoulder.

“What?” Danny asks.

The man grins again, this time there is less teeth and more goofiness to it. Rob just raises his eyebrows at his partner. He hadn’t noticed anything. McGarrett _winks_.

“If you think,” Danny grinds out, “that we’re just gonna let the feds take over, you’re sorely mistaken.”

McGarrett positively beams, “I would be disappointed if you did.”

*

There’s a man waiting for them at the precinct when they get there several hours later. The scene is being processed, and the body is on its way to the coroner’s office. There’s nothing for them to do out there anymore, so they head back. The man waiting is asian, with even sharper cheekbones than McGarrett.

He’s also exudes zen from his pores.

He’s wearing a coat like McGarrett’s, and when he introduces himself as Chin Ho Kelly, Danny swears that for just a second, there are blue and green scales dusted across his cheeks and down his neck. When he blinks, the scales are gone, and Chin Ho is grinning at him with too many teeth, the same way McGarrett had.

They head back to the detective’s workspace, and Rob offers to get them all coffee while Danny gets them up to date on the case.

As soon as Rob is out of earshot, Chin Ho says: “He sees.”

Danny’s eyebrows go up when Steve nods, “I’m not hallucinating, then?”

Steve just grins, but Chin is kind enough to explain a little, “No. It’s called glamour, it protects us from humans.”

Danny blinks, “So, what are you?”

“I am a water spirit,” Chin offers, then gestures at Steve, “He’s one of the fae.”

“You’re a fairy?” Danny asks flatly.

Steve’s responding smile is shark like, “Sure.”

Danny stares at him, and suddenly he sees. Steve drops whatever it is that disguises him and Danny can see. Pointed ears, faintly glowing eyes, sharp cheekbones to match sharp teeth. His skin seems to have a shiny sheen to it. It’s definitely not a human face. A blink and the glamour is back in place.

Danny sits down at his desk, “So all of the victims were really killed for their wings?”

“There is more than one victim?” Steve demands sharply.

Danny jolts at the tone in the fairy’s voice, “Yes. Today’s makes five.”

Steve growls, and it definitely isn’t a human sound. Chin lays his hand on Steve’s shoulder, which calms him.

“Wait, if  you didn’t know about the other victims, why are you here?”

Chin sighs and sits in the chair next to Danny’s desk. Steve crosses his arms with a frown. It’s Chin that explains, “Our unit is part of the Fae Guard. We’re attached to the FBI because we deal in crimes committed in the human realm. Either fae against fae, or human and fae. All of the gateways to the Realm are guarded, and we were informed of the case when Ms McPhee failed to make it through.”

“Shouldn’t you have been informed as soon as the first body hit the ground?” Danny wondered. If all the victims were faeries, someone at the FBI whose entire job consisted of looking for those kinds of cases should have noticed it.

“Yes,” Steve says, still frowning. “Which means that something is wrong with our FBI liaison.”

“Oh boy,” Danny says. “I hope they aren’t related.”

“We’ll find out,” Steve says, voice flat. “Chin, contact Kono, I want her in Quantico three days ago.”

The fairy stalks over to the evidence board. Danny eyes Chin, “Is time travel a thing?”

Chin shakes his head, “It takes a lot of power, and the consequences aren’t worth it.”

Danny nods, “Right. Well, here’s what we’ve got so far.”

*

Working with Steven McGarrett is like taking a battering ram when you go to visit your grandmother. Overkill and unnecessary. Danny has no idea, after all is said and done, just why he thought the man (fairy) would have any regard for police procedure at all. They’re _human rules_ after all.

The only thing that’s human about Steve is the glamour he wears to blend in.

That doesn’t stop Danny from finding him stupidly attractive. Idiot.

Chin offers to pair with Rob, because apparently Chin is better at acting like a human than his commanding officer. He says it with a straight face and amusement dancing in his eyes. It tells Danny all he needs to know about the water spirit. He’s a zen master of a troll. Danny likes him. So does Rob. Which is a good thing.

Steve decides that they need to go back to the residences of the victims. Turns out the hirsute guy living across the hall from victim number four really is a werewolf. Who knew? Danny’s seen enough monster movies to know that the werewolf is supposed to be scary, but this one takes a single look at Steve and practically pisses himself.

Everyone they meet calls Steve ‘Commander’. They all know who he is. Danny gets more information just by having Steve stand intimidatingly in the background for an interview than in all of the previous ones combined. More than half of it is hokum and inadmissible in court. What they can use is plenty.

There’s an old house on the corner of Mulberry and State that has aconite in the front garden. It’s owned by a member of the Hunter family. Danny learns that in this case, when surnames had become a thing this family really had chosen to use their profession. The Hunters have been hunting the supernatural for over a thousand years. They kill anything and everything so long as it isn’t human.

Steve concocts a plan that has Danny rolling his eyes every five seconds. Apparently faeries really do shed something called dust. It’s a fine, shimmery powder that is basically excess magic leaving the body. Chin likes to make jokes about how if you leave a fairy to sit for long enough, you could make a lot of easy black market money. Most faeries are careful about their dust, and about who gets their hands on it.

In fact, Steve trades a tiny vial of his own dust to the witch roommate of Mary Alice McPhee in exchange for information on the mysterious new boyfriend Mary Alice was seeing. Victor Hess. Steve hisses a growl that has Jenny ushering them from the apartment with fright.

Hess, Steve tells Danny through gritted fangs, is a common alias used by the less savory of the Hunter clan.

Danny deliberately tells himself not to contemplate what _less savory_ means in this case.

*

They set a trap.

Steve uses himself as bait, which Danny does not agree with. Chin just looks resigned, and Rob is confused, but trusts Danny and agrees to monitor the street just off the woods. Steve leaves a barely there trail of fairy dust to a smaller mushroom ring. He shed’s a single, delicate film from one wing. It’s a flat, multi-colored disc, paper thin and it makes Danny think of shed snake skin.

Steve’s wings are absolutely gorgeous. They’re broader than dragonfly wings, and when light goes through them they refract rainbows all over the place. Steve catches him staring and grins at him. He turns his back and lets Danny touch one while he sheds the disc. They’re warm to the touch, thin membranes stretched over bone. Tough like reptile skin, yet soft.

Danny watches them fade from sight and knows that Steve has huge wings imprinted on his back, like tattoos.

Steve carefully shreds the delicate disc of wing skin to leave along the trail. When they reach the ring, he pulls Danny into the hollow of a clump of trees and draws symbols on his skin. For protection, because Hess won’t be playing nice.

“Be careful,” Danny tells the tall fairy he’s somehow come to think of as _his_ over the last two days. “If you get killed, I’ll kill you myself.”

The smile Steve gives him is stunning. He presses a kiss to Danny forehead, winks, and steps away. In the wake of it all, Danny has silvery symbols on his hands and neck, and lips on his face. He’s covered in fairy dust, but feels like an arts and crafts reject.

Silence descends on the clearing.

Danny doesn’t know where Chin got to, but he can barely make out the shape of Steve up on a high branch over the mushroom ring. He finds himself holding his breath.

It feels like an eternity, but it really doesn’t take long for Victor Hess to show up in the clearing. He’s pale, dark haired and angry looking. He’s wielding a crossbow and has a shotgun strapped to his back. He stops at the edge of the clearing, suspicious.

He knows it’s a trap, but he’s curious.

Danny’s grip on his gun tightens.

“You gonna go in, or am I going to have to make you?” It’s Chin’s voice, and it’s directly behind Hess.

Hess spins, aiming the crossbow at the water spirit behind him, and stepping into the clearing in an effort to put some distance between them. Chin has shed his human guise. He’s scaly, with razors for cheekbones and a mouth full of fangs. His hands are webbed and tipped with claws. He looks dangerous.

Danny flanks Hess from his side, and Steve falls silently to the ground on the other side. Hess is surrounded. He either fights them, or he steps into the fairy ring at his back. He will never escape if he steps into the realm where he is the hunted.

“Come quietly, Hess,” Steve growls. He too, has dropped his guise. Hess recognizes him if the look of burning hatred he sends his way is any indication. “If you do, you’ll get to spend the rest of your life in a cushy human prison cell.”

“And if I don’t?” Hess asks idly in his faintly accented voice. “You gonna kill me, Commander?”

Steve grins that shark grin again, making Danny fight back a shiver. “Oh, no,” he says. “No, you’ll be going to the Tower.”

Danny guesses the Tower is some kind of prison, and a bad one, too. Hess pales. He looks at them all for a few seconds, then makes up his mind. He fires the crossbow, making Chin dodge out of the way. He lunges for the gap. Danny fires.

Danny has excellent aim, and Hess is shy a kneecap.

It’s all very civilised after that.

*

“You are not following me home.”

“No, I’m going with you. Not following.”

Danny sighs and stares at the man standing on the other side of his car. Steve smiles at him. “You’re not a dog, I’m not going to adopt you.”

“I would hope not, considering that what I want to do to you isn’t remotely innocent.”

Danny narrows his eyes at the innocent expression on Steve’s face. That expression morphs into a leer. It’s comical enough to make Danny chuckle. “My house is going to be covered in fairy dust for the rest of my life, isn’t it.”

Steve grins happily, “Don’t worry, I’ll help you keep clean.”

That’s a euphemism for shared showers, Danny can tell. He snorts, rolling his eyes again, “Get in the car.”


	57. Garden (mad max!au part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They safely arrived, now what? The beginning of something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Garden - Halsey
> 
> So, this is like a first meeting, first realizations part. It's not as epic as the first one, it's more of a segue into the next bit. Which naturally means that there will be another part.
> 
> In other news, new laptop came, so I am no longer constrained by my frustration with trying to write on the mobile platform from my tablet. Which sucks. A lot.
> 
> Also! We are coming up on the one year anniversary since I started IBDC. I'm excited, because it's evidence that I've been writing more than consistently for the past year. I've written nearly 200 drabbles, PLUS the other independent pieces I've done. I feel accomplished. To celebrate, I am going to get IBDC to a grand total of 200k words by the 26, when AO3 tells me I first posted it.

**Garden**

(mcdanno, mad max!au part 2,  [ garden - halsey ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRnjB2W91GI) )

 

_ “And you think my bruised knees are sort of pretty _

_ And I think your tired eyes are kind of nice _

_ And when I first met you, there was a garden _

_ Growing from a black hole in my mind…” _

 

Hawi isn’t a large settlement.

It makes use of small sections of the old city up in the hills of the oasi. The crumbling ruin of what had once been a thriving metropolis is ominous. Clara says she feels sad when she looks at it. It is a reminder of what used to be, before the world burned. Danny just tells Grace to stay away from the Old City. Don’t disturb the ghosts.

They are welcomed in Hawi. This is mostly due to their escort. The imperator and his team have a reputation. They give no quarter and fight like demons. Chin is thoughtful, but funny. Kono is like a ray of sunlight in the dark, bright and golden. Grover is a man that takes up a lot of space, physically and metaphorically. All of the space he contains is cheerful.

McGarrett is silence. Under the grease black and body armor he is lean, corded muscle and scars.

Danny thinks there must be something wrong with him, because McGarrett doesn’t scare him like he does so many of the people in Hawi. Grace  _ adores  _ the man, and as Matty says: Grace is never wrong about people.

They are given a house. It’s small, just three rooms not including the bathing room. Clara and Grace share one, Danny and Matty the other. There are basic necessities inside the house, and their escort Jerry explains that the house is theirs, but they’ll be expected to contribute to the community through work. All food in Hawi is shared, you earn your meals by working. Everyone does.

They’ll see.

In the morning, Kono returns to escort them to see Governor Denning, the leader of Hawi. She explains on the way that this is an interview to see where they’ll fit into the community the best. You’re expected to contribute, but Denning doesn’t want his people to be unhappy.

Danny likes the man when he meets them. He’s severe, and up front, but he lets Grace stay with Danny while they talk.

It’s an illuminating conversation.

Grace will spend her time learning essential skills, like reading and writing and math. She will also help in the gardens, and (when she asks) with the other black thumbs maintaining the vehicles.

Danny will be joining Commander McGarrett’s team in the Guard. It is not a request, Denning tells him. McGarrett very rarely ever asks for anything, but he had apparently been impressed enough with Danny to want to add him to his team. So Danny has been hijacked into the Guard without even a by-your-leave.

Instead of yelling at Denning, he goes straight to the source.

He tracks McGarrett down inside the garage where the war rig Five-0 is stored when not in use. The rig’s hood is open, and McGarrett is bent over the engine, grease on his hands instead of his face this time. Danny dismisses the odd thought that this guy is actually kind of adorable without the body armor and grease black.

“What the hell did you do?” he demands loudly as soon as he’s within earshot.

McGarrett looks up at him and grins, “Welcome to the Guard, Danno.”

Danny brings his hand up in an abrupt cutting motion, “No. Do not call me that. Only my daughter can call me that.”

McGarrett just smiles at him, flashing white teeth against sun baked skin and dirt. Danny rolls his eyes, knowing he’s getting a look at the what the imperator is like when there are no expectations. When he is surrounded by people he trusts.

“What if I don’t want to join your Guard?”

McGarrett gets a look on his face, like he genuinely hadn’t thought of that. The smile slips off his face, and Danny finds he prefers the smile. Without it, McGarrett’s eyes are hooded, tired and wary in a way that Danny has felt before. Danny felt that all-consuming exhaustion right after Rachel was killed.

“I need a partner,” McGarrett says.

“Pull the other one,” Danny says flatly. “Adding me makes the team odd numbered and you know it.”

McGarrett huffs, nostrils flaring, “Yeah, well, you’re good. I know I can trust you to have my back.”

Danny’s eyebrows crawl up toward the pale, sun-bleached strands of his hair, “Do you?”

“Yes,” McGarrett sounds absolutely certain.

Danny knows that he isn’t suited to any other job, not really. He’s spent too long fighting to protect his family, he really doesn’t know anything else. Fighting is who he is. If joining McGarrett’s team will allow him to continue to protect Grace, he’ll do whatever it takes.

“I’m never going to get to drive the rig, am I?”

The grin reappears, lighting hazel eyes. Danny pushes away the spark that makes his stomach clench. “Never,” McGarrett says, “But I’ll bet you’re one hell of a wingman, Danno.”

Danny rolls his eyes, pressing his lips together to force back the smile he can feel fighting free, “I don’t feel comfortable with you calling me that when I don’t even know your first name.”

“Steve,” McGarrett says, stepping closer to Danny. “I’m Steve.”

Danny cranes his head back to look up at the looming imperator, meeting those intense eyes, and wonders just what he is getting himself into.

*

The sun is an unforgiving enemy; beating down on the earth with blank retribution. Across the flat, the mountain looms through the heat haze. Gigantic and black. From here it is impossible to see the bright red heat of magma flowing up from the core of the earth. The heat makes the Old City shimmer as well, and between them Hawi sits innocently, crushed between two ominous structures haunted by monsters.

“Don’t think about it,” Steve advises.

Danny lowers his hand and turns his head to look at Steve. Steve doesn’t bother to look at him, he just continues to double check the war rig. Danny throws a flicker of a look back at the Mountain and then squares his shoulders.

Right, he’s got other things to worry about.

It’s been nearly a week since Steve hijacked him into the Guard. A week of steadily getting to know his comrades and learn the tactics of the Guard. A week of Kono’s sly wit and Chin’s zen-like statements of fact. A week of that stupid grin of Grover’s that basically says  _ ‘I know something you don’t know’ _ like he’s five years old. A week of Steve and his stupid, goofy grin, and ability to just barge his way past your defenses if that’s what he wants.

Grace and Clara love the imperator. Matty just grins and wiggles his eyebrows whenever the subject comes up.

In their house, the subject has come up a lot.

_ “Don’t complain so much, Danny,” _ Clara’s voice says in his head.  _ “It’ll make people think you like him.” _

Danny  _ knows _ , okay. He gets it. He does like Steve, despite himself. He doesn’t want to, considering that what he’s learned about the man contradicts his beliefs. One should not throw themselves into danger like it’s a  _ hobby;  _ like it’s  _ fun.  _ The man is danger personified - more so than any other imperator Danny has ever seen. He thinks nothing of carrying live explosives on his person, and could probably kill a man seventeen different ways with just his pinky.

He’s not supposed to be a socially inept goof. He’s not supposed to be so gentle that  _ Grace  _ can tell the man to stick it and there’s a chance of him crying.

And that’s the true shocker.

Danny had never expected the man to know what to do with a child, but Steve McGarrett  _ loves  _ kids…. And kids love him back. Somehow they don’t even find him scary when he’s in full gear and his face is covered in grease black. He’s the kind of dangerous that has adults giving him a wide berth, but kids love him.

Grace had him wrapped around her finger in fifty seconds flat.

Danny wonders sometimes if Steve’s head is still spinning over that, or if he’s starting to get used to it. He always looks so amazed when Grace is around.

He’s started to learn how to read the man. He is in trouble.

“You ready?”

Danny shakes himself out of his thoughts and grins at Steve, who grins back (sharp and dangerous, with too many teeth on show to be polite) and says: “Let’s go protect Grace.”

As they climb up into the war rig, they both know that this is what it is for Danny. Danny will go fight the monsters. He’ll spend the next three days riding shotgun in a war rig, never stopping except for a couple hours sleep. He’ll see things and do things that will make his blood curdle.

And he’ll do it all for Grace.

Steve blares the air horn once, and the lead vehicle rolls forward. Steve knows his own priorities have shifted. He’ll do anything for the blue eyed man sitting next to him now, and for the little girl that came with him.

Even live.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I sort of implied that Steve has a deathwish here, but that's not what I'm going for.
> 
> I've always felt that at the beginning of the show, Steve doesn't care if he lives or dies, but that Danny kind of pulls him out of that and makes him realize that he wants to live for a multitude of reasons.
> 
> This is what I'm trying to portray here. For all this time as Imperator, he hasn't cared if he lives or dies, but here's Danny and Grace making him want to live.


	58. Reading Time With Pickle (vases)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve and Danny encounter a series of ugly vases.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reading Time With Pickle - Regina Spektor
> 
> I don't know what this is. It was kind of fun to write, and it has nothing at all to do with pickles. *shrugs*
> 
> I am trying to motivate myself to write, because I haven't for over a week now and I have a huge WIP that needs to be done by the end of July.

**Reading Time With Pickle**

(mcdanno, vases,  [ reading time with pickle, regina spektor ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiGLex6jcDg) )

 

_ “But love is the answer to a question _

_ That I’ve forgotten _

_ But I know I’ve been asked _

_ And the answer has got to be love…” _

 

“What do you think of this?”

Steve looks up, eyebrows scrunched together in thought as he takes in the object in Danny’s hands. It’s glass, or ceramic, maybe. Tallish, but also squat and round. Rounded widely at the middle and narrower at the ends. It’s a matte, grayish purple color that reminds Steve of a few of the things he’s eaten (or not eaten) out of MRE’s in the field.

“What is it?” he asks, puzzled.

Danny flips it in his hands, revealing a hole in what has now been identified as the top. “It’s a vase,” he explains, and then he tilts it from side to side in a considering manner. Almost as if he thinks (hopes, more like) that perhaps a different angle will make it prettier.

It won’t.

“Why?” Steve wonders, bewildered.

“How should I know?” Danny fires back, “Well?”

“It’s ugly.”

“Yes, it is.”

“Then why is it here?”

“Because Grace picked it out.”

Steve leans back in his chair, “No.”

Danny frowns, takes the last couple of steps forward into Steve’s office and sets the offending vase gently down on the desk. Up close, Steve can see faint crackly lines running through the glaze. He leans back in his chair, because the yellowish lines make it looks like someone peed on it.

“No. Danno, please,” he begs his silent partner.

“Grace picked it out, Steven.”

Danny, quite obviously, thinks the vase is just as ugly as Steve does. He sounds like he’s reminding himself that  _ Grace  _ picked it out just as much as he’s telling Steve the same fact.

“Did she paint it herself?” Steve inquires, voice resigned.

This, he realizes, is what his life has been reduced to. Negotiating over how prominently an ugly vase will be displayed in his house. It’s not even a question of whether they’ll keep the stupid thing or not; because it’s  _ Grace. _

Danny picks up the vase, flips it over and shows Steve the little gold  _ ‘made in Peru’  _ sticker on the bottom. Steve lets out a relieved breath. So long as they keep it, they can still sort of hide it.

“We can put it in the study,” Steve decides. The study has somehow become the place they hide ugly gifts. “On the high shelf, behind Dad’s ship in a bottle.”

“Between the bust of Beethoven and the encyclopedias?” Danny asks for clarification.

“That’s the spot,” Steve confirms.

That shelf is high enough that Danny needs a step stool to reach it, and Steve has to strain himself to see the back of it. The vase will technically still be on display, but remain out of everyday eyesight.

“Works for me!” Danny says brightly, and he heads out of Steve’s office and toward his own.

He leaves the ugly vase behind.

*

“You have got to be kidding me.”

Steve is standing in the living room. In one hand is a note from Mary that he’s skimming rapidly. In the other is a vase. It looks exactly like the one Grace gave to them a week ago, all the way down to the crackly yellow lines. Well, exactly like it, except the color.

“Apparently Joan picked it out,” Steve says, scowling at Mary’s note and carefully not looking at the vase.

“It’s the color of split pea soup, Steve,” Danny says flatly. That is not a color that should exist in nature. He’s seen  _ Poltergeist,  _ he knows that nothing good ever comes from that shade of green.

Steve looks up at him, “I’d say Mary was playing a joke on us, but she sent a picture.”

Danny takes the proffered picture and, yep, there’s little Joan McGarrett, holding the vase over her head in triumph, genuine excitement in every line of her face.

Steve hefts the vase in his hands in thought. “We’ll move Beethoven down a shelf,” he decides.

“But Beethoven is ugly,” Danny says.

Steve holds the vase out to Danny, who recoils. “Beethoven was a gift from your mother,” Steve reminds him grimly. “Which is worse? Beethoven’s angry eyebrows, or  _ this?”  _ he wiggles the vase for emphasis.

“Angry eyebrows it is!”

“That’s the spirit.”

*

“Okay, now we’re just being mocked,” Danny states, staring.

“You don’t like it?” Kono wonders, sounding sad, but there’s a glint in her eyes that tells Danny that she knows exactly how ugly the vase she’s just gifted them with is.

Steve sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose, “Kono…”

“We already have  _ two  _ of these,” Danny finishes.

“But not  _ this  _ color,” Kono tells them.

The vase she’s trying to foist on them is identical to the other two, except for the bright, pepto bismol shade of pink. The crackly yellow lines running through the surface make it look like someone threw up said pepto bismol and then thought  _ ‘Hey! Art!’ _

“Grace helped me pick it out!” Kono offers cheerfully, holding it out.

Both men groan, and Danny reluctantly allows Kono to hand him the offending monstrosity. He holds it out away from himself like it might bite him as they watch Kono leave the office, a bounce in her step. She’s just gotten one over on them, and she’s very pleased with herself.

“Do we have to?” Steve practically whines.

Danny just  _ looks  _ at him, because they both already know the answer to that.

“Fine,” Steve huffs with a sigh. “We’ll move the encyclopedias down a shelf.”

“What about Beethoven?” Danny asks.

“Bottom shelf by the globe?”

“Yeah, okay.”

This time when he leaves Steve’s office, he has to take the ugly vase with him.


	59. Level Up (new jersey pre-series)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny and Steve meet one winter day in New Jersey. AKA: The start of something good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so after a long hiatus wherein I concentrated on the longfic I was working on, I'm back. Said fic is 97k words and a Teen Wolf Zombie Apocalypse!AU I'm really proud of. Read it: [Worn Out Shoes](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7564009/chapters/17206597).
> 
> I shouldn't have another gap like that until November when NaNoWriMo starts.
> 
> This is just a little bit of a thing to try and get back into the IBDC groove. There is not Grace yet, just Danny's partner, whom Grace was named for. A short meet-cute.

**Level Up**

(mcdanno, new jersey pre-series, [ level up - vienna teng ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4n_8R5lKnw))

 

_“Begin again._

_Dynamite the dam on the flow._

_You body feels the tock tock tock_

_Of time as it hammers._

_Lord we are all cinders_

_From a fire burning long ago,_

_But here it is the knock knock knock_

_Of your own heart that matters…”_

 

Steve twists the cap off his water bottle and lifts it to his mouth. His chest is heaving, his shirt dark with sweat. It’s a frigid November morning, but he’s so overheated from his run that the shorts and sleeveless tee he’s wearing feel like too much. He’s generating enough heat that he’s steaming just a little.

He drains the bottle and drops it on top of his bag, stepping off the path to stretch out. He drops to the ground to do a series of push ups followed by crunches. His stomach muscles protest a little, still a little tender from the two bullets to the gut that he’d taken eight weeks ago, but it feels too good to be moving and working out again for him to stop.

*

“What are you goggling at?” Danny asks his partner as he comes up next to her and hands her a hotdog. They’re on a case and don’t have time to stop for anything else.

Grace takes it and smiles. It’s slathered in relish and mustard just likes she likes it. “That,” she says, pointing in the direction of the man working out in the grass.

Danny turns his head to look, hotdog halfway to his mouth. He freezes as the tall, fit man Grace has been ogling for the past few minutes gets to his feet and grabs the bottom of his shirt to wipe the sweat off his face, revealing toned abs and a faint dusting of hair. His biceps flex and Danny has never found tattoos that attractive until now.

“Close your mouth,” Grace says, amused. “You’ll catch flies.”

Danny’s jaw snaps shut. “It’s November. Why isn’t he wearing more clothes?”

Grace shrugs, “I don’t know, but I appreciate it.”

It is November in New Jersey. It hasn’t snowed yet this year, but there has been a generous layer of frost across everything every morning since before Halloween. It takes a crazy person to wear shorts in this kind of cold; but then, the man is generating enough heat to steam.

“Oh, shit!” Grace exclaims, and she turns abruptly, stuffing half her hot dog into her mouth.

Danny’s eyes travel from the tattoos up to the face (which is just as nice as the rest of him) to meet the greenest pair of hazel eyes he’s ever seen. He flinches, but the man just quirks a little grin at him. Danny is a contrary person, so he takes it as a challenge and raises an eyebrow at the man. He gets an outright grin for his trouble and a sweep of the eyes as he’s checked out in return.

When their eyes meet again, Danny can’t help but wiggle his eyebrows and take a huge bite out of his hot dog (ketchup and mustard with onions, as god intended). The man throws his head back and laughs.

Grace jabs her elbow into Danny’s side. “I saw him first!” she hisses, flushed.

“So what? I’m not the one that turned away.” Danny replies, still looking as the man stoops to pick up a coat and a small gym bag.

“Danny, you can’t have all the hot people!” Grace exclaims, frustrated. “Just because you’re bi doesn’t mean you have to hog all of them. Leave a few for us straight saps.”

The man is walking toward them now, and Danny figures he’s got about five seconds before he can hear hissed conversation, so he flings out, “I let you have Michaels.”

Grace groans, “Who, it turns out, is as much as douche as he is pretty.”

“You went on one date!” Danny replies.

Before Grace can reply, a throat clearing makes them both turn. The man is standing in front of them; and boy if Danny thought he was a tall drink of water from afar, it’s nothing on a close up. This guy is all chiseled muscle and tan skin and eyelashes.

“Can I help you, officer?” he asks, and his voice is deep and sends a shiver down Danny’s spine.

Danny doesn’t let it stop him, he’s always had a smart mouth, and he might as well just go ahead and say it. “Yes. I’m afraid I’m going to have to write you up.”

“For what?” the twinkle in his eye tells Danny that he knows he’s being fed a line and enjoying it.

“Indecent exposure,” Danny says, face straight.

Grace chokes.

The man laughs, lighting up like a beacon. Oh boy, is Danny in trouble or what?

*

Steve can’t help but admire the sheer bravado of the blonde in front of him. He’s a square jawed, stocky ball of sheer will and stubbornness and Steve couldn’t be happier to have decided to take his medical leave in New Jersey of all places.

“I’m Steve,” he says, offering a hand to the enthralling blonde with the detective’s badge clipped to his belt.

His hand is taken and the handshake is warm, “Danny.”

The woman at Danny’s side, his partner but also friend by the look of it, sighs heavily. “Men,” she mutters. “Why are all the good ones gay?”

Steve snorts, “I’m equal opportunity, actually.”

“Me too,” Danny replies. “This is Grace.”

“Nice to meet you,” Steve offers.

Grace has the grace to accept what’s happening and shake his hand with a genuine smile. “When you two get married I expect to be your Best Woman and I get to give the embarrassing speech.”

Steve can’t help it, he feels himself flushing and can only pray that the redness in his face from his workout in the cold is enough to disguise it. He clears his throat, “I’m in the Navy.”

Danny’s eyebrows go up at the same time Grace’s do. Danny takes a long look at him and Steve finds himself straightening under that searching gaze.

“I think we could work around that,” Danny finally says.

“You can’t be serious Danny,” Grace says, surprised.

Steve feels like he’s just been swept out to sea by the undertow. He was safe on the shore, but flirting with the waves got him pulled under. Danny seems to be looking long term at him and Steve feels like fighting it would just be detrimental to his overall well-being. They’ve only just met and Steve doesn’t want to leave this storm he's at the mercy of now.

Danny is fire and possibly his ruin. Steve swallows hard, unable to look away.

Danny looks at Grace, and they stare at each other for a few moments until understanding seems to dawn. Grace nods once and steps away to give them a small semblance of privacy.

“I know we just met,” Danny tells him, “but there’s one thing about me you need to know. I _never_ back down from a fight.”

“And you think a Navy Seal who spends ten months of the year deployed in some unnameable location is worth fighting for?”

“No,” Danny says. “But I think Steve might be."

Steve smiles.


	60. Nirvana (need)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It wasn't meant to be this way. He's not supposed to need him more than he needs air. He isn't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nirvana - Sam Smith
> 
> Okay, so I know it's been an age since I updated anything. I'm sorry. I burned myself out. Hopefully this means that I will be getting back into the groove.

**Nirvana**

(mcdanno, need, [nirvana – sam smith](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiz68br4djSAhUEWSYKHUI2DysQtwIIHzAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DLv679SxziHQ&usg=AFQjCNEwH2DnxeKY0AYmqpjKqg0BNagAIg&bvm=bv.149397726,d.eWE))

 

_“Oh baby, oh baby, oh, we both feel the same_

_I’m not gonna give you my name_

_And I don’t think you want that change_

_We’re in this together, we don’t know who we are_

_Even if it’s moving too fast,_

_Baby we should take it too far…”_

Steve blinks up at the ceiling. The chain dangling from the fan clicks with every slow rotation. It’s hot; the air heavy with humidity. Just outside the window, night bugs drone on without a care. His sheets are sticky with sweat, and he wishes he’d though to shuck the shorts he’s wearing before crawling into bed. He wants to shift, but his whole body is heaving with the heat. His muscles leaden with sleep.

The body next to him shifts, letting out a deep breath as the blonde rolls, wrapping an arm around him and a cheekbone meets his hip. He’s exuding just as much heat as Steve knows he himself is, but Steve can’t bring himself to push him away.

How did it come to this?

It... it wasn’t supposed to become a thing. It was just supposed to be one night. One night in the arms of someone beautiful without having to worry about feelings or secrets. But the blonde had drawn him in like a moth to a flame; and before he knew it, he was coming back for more. Falling deeper into the shorter man and feeling like he was drowning.

Well, not drowning. He’d drowned before, this was different. This was blissful suffocation. Chest aching, muscle straining fighting with his own heart. He can feel it in his chest, hear it in his ears tha-dumping away as it pumps the blood through his veins. The traitor.

His companion hums in his sleep, and Steve can’t help but lift a hand and run it through those disheveled blond locks, soothing him back to sleep. He looks back up at the ceiling fan, watches the streaks of light coming in through the slats in the blinds.

He’ll have to leave soon. He’s supposed to report in at five. He only got two days leave this time around. Two night spent tangled up in this room and this man. A lump formed in his throat, and he swallows it down painfully, his heart clenching. It’s not supposed to be like this. He’s not supposed to need him like this. Like he’s oxygen. Like Steve’s been underwater for too long and only just now feeling the sweet release of air entering his lungs.

He’s not supposed to want him. He’s not supposed to _need_ him.

The clock by the bed ticks over. Steve sighs. He manages to extricate himself from the bed and its occupant. He takes a quick two-minute shower, gets dressed. He pauses in the doorway as he leaves, looking at the blonde sprawled in the bed and feels a longing to just get back into that bed. To never leave it.

Instead, Steve squares his shoulders, and tells the man, “I love you” and “goodbye”, and then turns and leaves.

Blue eyes watch him go from the bed. Danny listens to the front door shut and the deadbolt slide home. He knows he’ll find the key just under the mat, just like countless times before. He sits up, the sheet pooling around his waist, a frown marring his features.

That goodbye had sounded awful final.

His heart fluttered at the ‘I love you’, but sank into his stomach with the final word. He runs a hand down his face, gets up and walks over to the window. A peek through the blinds shows the tall figure he’s come to know so well ducking into a taxi. He sighs to himself.

“I love you, too.”

 

* _Six Months Later*_

Steve blinks, shakes his head a little. It’s the blood loss, it’s got to be. There’s no way he’s here. No way. Steve had left him in a little apartment in New Jersey. But he knows that body. Knows the breadth of those shoulders, the stubborn tilt to that chin. Knows those blue eyes that keep flicking his way.

Steve breathes in deeply, and winces as stabbing pain shoots through his midsection.

“A little worse for wear, there?”

Steve sighs, glancing over at Joe White, who’s got a little grin quirking his lips. That grin has got nothing to do with Steve’s cracked ribs or the gunshot wounds the EMT is bandaging up. Joe quirks an eyebrow and tilts his head in the blonde’s direction.

“How did you even know?” Steve asks, defeated, shoulders slumping. He hasn’t felt this bad in a long time.

“I’m a smart man,” Joe informs him, making him want to roll his eyes. “You changed and I wanted to know why.”

Steve frowns, glancing at the detective out of the corner of his eye, “Yeah, well. I don’t know what you were expecting. I left, remember.”

“So what?” Joe demands.

Steve laughs. It’s not a happy sound. He leans his head against the door frame of the ambulance he’s sitting on the bumper of, closes his eyes and tries to lose himself in the all-over ache he’s feeling. A few moments later, he hears Joe walk away. He can feel his exhaustion pulling him down. Sleep tugging at the corners of his mind.

Footsteps approach, but Steve doesn’t bother to open his eyes. After a minute, a hand gently touches his knee. A familiar touch, and his green eyes crack open. He can’t stop the faint (if wounded) smile that comes to his lips at the sight of the blond he left his heart with crouched in front of him.

Danny huffs out a breath, taking in the dark circles beneath Steve’s eyes. Stops himself from counting the scrapes and bruises he can.

“You’re an idiot,” Danny tells him, matter-of-factly. Steve blinks at him, so he continues, “If you promise not to leave again, I’ll take you home with me.”

A tiny frown tugs at the corners of Steve’s mouth, and Danny pats his knee, rising from his crouch with his knee popping. He takes a step forward, running his hand through Steve’s sweat-soaked hair. Steve’s eyes close and he leans into the touch.

“Come on, you moron, let’s go,” Danny says.

Steve lets Danny drag him to his feet, and as he gets into the Camaro the other man drives, he looks up at him where he’s leaning on the door to close it behind him, “I love you.”

“I know,” Danny says, smiling. “I love you, too, doofus.”

Steve grins goofily, and Danny shuts the door. When the blond gets into the driver’s seat and the car roars to life, Steve tells him as seriously as he can, “I promise not to run away again.”

Danny snorts, “Good.”

Steve reaches out and takes Danny’s hand, and something in his chest unclenches. Oh, good. That’s good. He’s breathing again, finally. Danny glances at him out of the corner of his eye, and Steve doesn’t hide that he’s staring at him. The blond quirks an eyebrow at him, so Steve tells him the truth.

“I can breathe now.”

Danny blinks and says nothing for a few seconds, absorbing the information. When he speaks, his voice is a little gruffer than before. “Good. Keep doing that.”

“Okay.”


End file.
